2 CAF personnel killed as mini goods vehicle falls into gorge in Chhattisgarh

Balrampur: Two personnel of the Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) were killed when a mini goods vehicle they were travelling in plunged into a gorge in Chhattisgarh's Balrampur district, police said on Thursday.

A CAF jawan and the vehicle's driver, a civilian, were also injured in the accident which took place late Wednesday evening in a Naxalite-affected area, they said.

The CAF personnel were engaged in shifting their camp when the incident occurred between Pundag and Bhutahi villages, bordering Jharkhand state, Balrampur Superintendent of Police Lal Umed Singh said.

The 'D' company of CAF's 10th battalion was transferred from Ramchandrapur to Pundag in the district. As part of the redeployment exercise, security personnel, goods and other materials were being shifted in buses and trucks to a new location of the camp, he said.

A big truck which was engaged in transportation could not go beyond Bandarchua village, hence a mini vehicle was engaged to carry goods loaded in the truck from there to the new camp location, he said.

After ferrying the goods once, the vehicle was engaged in another round of transportation when its driver failed to negotiate a sharp turn on a hill. The vehicle fell into a gorge and hit a tree, the official said.

"Head constable Fateh Bahadur, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, and constable Narayan Prasad, from Surguja district in Chhattisgarh, were killed in the incident while constable Rapratap Singh and the civilian driver suffered injuries," Singh said.

The injured persons were shifted to a local hospital, he said.

A probe was on into the incident, he added.