Five killed as truck falls into gorge in Himachal's Kangra

The wheat-laden truck fell into the gorge along the approach road near Uthadagran panchayat, police said

Five people, three of them members of a family, were killed on Sunday when the truck they were travelling in rolled down a 100-metre-deep gorge near Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district, officials said.

The accident took place in the Rasehar village in the afternoon, they said.

Four people died on the spot while one succumbed to injuries on the way to hospital. A team of personnel from the district administration, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and police has arrived at the scene, according to a release issued by the Kangra District Public Relations Officer (DPRO).

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The wheat-laden truck fell into the gorge along the approach road near Uthadagran panchayat, it said.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed grief over the deaths.

"The government stands by the family in this hour of sorrow and directions have been issued to the district administration to provide immediate relief to the families of victims," Sukhu said.

He wished speedy recovery to the injured and directed the hospital authorities to provide best possible treatment to them.

Dharamshala MLA Sudhir Sharma, who is currently in Shimla, expressed his condolences to the bereaved families and stated that the government would provide all possible assistance to the victims of the accident.

Based on the directions of the MLA, the Dharamshala tehsildar was dispatched for relief and rescue work, and the injured are receiving medical treatment, the release said. The tehsildar provided immediate relief of Rs 25,000 to the victims, it added.