4 escape as car gets stuck in trees after plunging into gorge

Four persons today had a narrow escape when their car got stuck amid trees at a depth of about 60 feet after it plunged into an over 500-foot deep gorge from a ghat road at Kallati, about 35 km from here.

The driver of the car, in which a 13-year-old girl and her parents were going to Mudumalai from Coimbatore, lost control over the vehicle while negotiating a hairpin bend near Bison Valley and it rolled down in the gorge, police said.

The Kallati-Mudumalai Road has 36 hairpin bends and the incident occurred at the 26th bend. However, the four had a narrow escape as it got stuck amid trees at a depth of about 60 feet.

Some passersby witnessed the incident and informed police. Fire and Rescue Service personnel with the help of police and locals rescued them.

The driver suffered fracture in one of his arms and the girl sustained serious injuries and both of them were hospitalised, police said.

The spot is highly accident-prone in view of the steep climb at the hairpin bends. Two years ago, 18 passengers of a bus were killed when it fell into the gorge in the area.

Locals say the road is preferred by tourists in view of short distance to Mudumalai, but many of the drivers were unaware of ghat section driving and apply brakes while negotiating the hairpin bends, resulting in mishaps.