The driver and cleaner of a fuel tanker were killed, when it plunged into a 300-feet-deep gorge near Doddatappale in Sakleshpur taluk of Hassan district on the Bengaluru-Mangaluru national highway on Tuesday night.

The fuel filled tanker was coming from Mangaluru side. As there was a landslip on the stretch near Doddatappale, the driver moved the tanker to the edge of the road, when he lost balance over the vehicle.

The tanker rolled into the gorge. The fuel spilled out as the tanker burst open.

The driver and the cleaner have been buried in the slush. While the bodies of one of them has been retrieved, search is on to find the other. An expert rescue team has been brought from Dakshina Kannada district to take up the search operation.