Three members of a family tragically lost their lives, and three others sustained injuries when the vehicle they were traveling in fell into a 400–500 meter deep gorge in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district. The incident occurred around 5:50 a.m. near Lwani village in a forest area. The vehicle veered off the road, leading to a rescue operation involving the police, disaster response teams, and local authorities.
Sub-Inspector Sandeep Devrani, from the Dewal Police Outpost, notified the Station House Officer (SHO) of Tharali about the accident after learning that a vehicle had plunged into a deep gorge in the forest area of Lwani village. The SHO of Tharali, with a police team, rushed to the accident site upon receiving the information. Simultaneously, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Tharali was informed, and a District Disaster Response Force (DDRF) team was requested to aid in the rescue efforts.
Upon reaching the scene and conducting initial investigations, it was discovered that Balbir Singh, a resident of Bank village in the Lohajung area, was returning to his village after a family member’s demise. The mortal remains of Bhajan Singh were being transported in a private ambulance to the village following his passing in Dehradun during treatment. Balbir Singh and other family members were in a separate vehicle heading to the village for the final rites and to accompany the deceased.
The accident involved a total of six individuals in the vehicle. Initial findings suggest that the driver may have momentarily fallen asleep, causing the vehicle to lose control and plunge into the gorge. However, authorities are conducting a thorough investigation to ascertain the exact cause of the tragic incident. The deceased have been identified as Balbir Singh (52), his wife Shanti Devi (48), and their son Anshu Bisht (18), who all lost their lives in the crash.
The three injured passengers are Kavita Devi (32), Mayank Singh (8), and Roshni (18). Rescue teams successfully retrieved the injured individuals from the gorge and transferred them to a nearby hospital via ambulance for medical treatment. The injured are currently under medical care and receiving necessary treatment. The joint rescue and relief operation involved personnel from the police, DDRF, and local administration, who worked tirelessly to evacuate the victims and clear the accident site.
Legal procedures are being followed, and further investigations into the incident are ongoing.
