4 of family killed as car falls into gorge in Kishtwar

The accident took place on the Drabshalla link road, about 25 km from Kishtwar town, when the family was returning to their residence in Dessa village after paying obeisance at Sarthal Mata temple

Four members of a family died after their car veered off a road and plunged into a deep gorge in Kishtwar district on Saturday, officials said. The deceased have been identified as Ranjeet Singh, 35, his wife Jyoti Devi, 31, their six-month-old son (Ashu) and niece Simran Thakur, 21, all residents of Mangal Dessa in Doda district.

The driver is said to have lost control over the steering at a blind curve.

A police officer said the family had gone to Sarthal Mata Temple in Kishtwar’s Sarthal area in their car (DL5CE5634). The accident took place on the Drabshalla link road, about 25 km from Kishtwar town, when the family was returning to their residence in Dessa village after paying obeisance at Sarthal Mata temple, he said.

“It appears that Ranjeet Singh lost control over the steering at a blind curve and the car fell into the gorge. Soon after the accident, locals rushed for help but found three of them dead. A critically injured woman, probably Simran, was pulled from the wreckage and shifted to the Kishtwar district hospital but she was declared dead.