Himachal: Six Kashmiri labourers die in road accident near Sunni, CM expresses grief

21-year-old driver of pick-up vehicle also killed as it rolls down gorge on Kadharghat-Jologh road in Shimla district

Six labourers from Kashmir were killed in a road accident when a pickup van fell into a gorge on the Kadharghat-Jologh road in the Sunni sub-division of Shimla district on Monday, police said.

A pick-up vehicle involved in the accident near Kadharghat in Sunni, Shimla, on Monday. (HT Photo)

The vehicle with 12 occupants was on its way from Sunni to Mandi when the accident occurred.

Four labourers and the driver died on the spot, while two passengers succumbed to injuries on the way to the hospital.

The deceased were identified as Ghulam Asan Gorsi, 43, Shabir Ahmed, 19, Farid Didar, 24, Talib, 23, Gulzar, 30, and Mustaq, 30. They belonged to villages in Kulgam district of neighbouring Jammu and Kashmir.

The driver was identified as Ranjit Kanwar, 21, from Shethvi village in Shimla district.

The other occupants, Aslam Chanchi, 18, from Anantnag, Talib Hussain, 21, from Kulgam, Akash Kumar, 16, from Dehradun, Ajay Thakur, 26, from Mandi, and Manjoor Ahmed from Kulgam were undergoing treatment at Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Shimla.

Shimla superintendent of police Sanjeev Gandhi said the initial investigation showed the accident occurred when the driver lost control of the vehicle.

Sukhu expresses grief

Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed grief over the deaths and directed the district authorities to provide immediate relief to the next of kin of the deceased, and the best possible treatment to the injured, a statement issued here said.