Four people died and one was seriously injured as their car plunged into a gorge near the Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district amid heavy rain on Sunday.
The vehicle, which had five passengers, slipped off the road before falling down the mountain near Rahninala, deputy superintendent of police, Manali, KD Sharma said.
One person sustained serious injuries in the accident, with rescue operations underway, the DSP added. He also said the victims have not been identified yet.
Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu called the incident “heart-wrenching”. He said the local administration had been directed to ensure that the injured person is provided proper medical facilities for their treatment.
“May God grant a place at His divine feet to the souls of the departed and provide strength to the grieving families to bear this immense sorrow. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured person,” Sukhu said in a post on X.
{{/usCountry}}“May God grant a place at His divine feet to the souls of the departed and provide strength to the grieving families to bear this immense sorrow. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured person,” Sukhu said in a post on X.
{{/usCountry}}Heavy and incessant rain across Himachal Pradesh have led to many roads being blocked, ANI quoted the State Emergency Operation Centre as saying. Kullu district remains the second most impacted in terms of access to roads, with 39 of them blocked in sub-divisions including Banjar and Nirmand following rain-related obstructions.
The incident comes nearly a week after a similar one in Shimla, wherein three people died in a road accident near Jalog.
The death toll in the state during the ongoing monsoon season had gone up to more than 70, including rain-related fatalities and accidental deaths, ANI said quoting official data from the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC).
Given the sensitive situation in the state, the SEOC has kept a close tab on the situation and has released a 24x7 helpline – 1070 – for relief efforts.
The government had advised the public to avoid non-urgent travel, especially in zones prone to landslides.