Three killed, 38 injured in two separate accidents in HP

Mandi, Jun 26 (UNI) Three people were killed and 38 injured in two separate road accidents in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh during the last 24 hrs, police sources today said.

Three people were washed away in Beas River and feared dead and two seriously injured after their car rolled down near Hanogi Mandir, about 30 kms from here, on the Mandi-Kullu National Highway No 21 today.

The bodies were yet to be recovered and police sources said their teams were scouring the 10 km area between Hanogi and Pandoh Dam.

Two people, identified as Jaswinder Singh and Vivek Wali, survived the accident after they fell out of the vehicle while it was rolling down the gorge.

Both the injured have been admitted to a government hospital in Mandi.

The sources, quoting eyewitness accounts, said the accident occurred either due to a mechanical fault or an error by the driver who might have fell asleep.

The people washed away in the river have been identified as Amrish Goel, Harpreet Kalra and Jasbir Singh, all residents of Mandi Gobindgarh in Punjab, police said, adding that a case has been registered and investigations were on.

In the second accident in the district, at least 36 pilgrims were injured, three of them seriously, after a truck they were traveling in overturned at Slapper, near here, on the National Highway 21 of Himachal Pradesh last night, police sources said.

The vehicle was on its way to Manikaran from Punjab when the accident occurred at Slapper.

Police said SDM Pankaj Rai, who rushed to the accident site, supervised the rescue operations and added that the injured have been admitted to Civil Hospital at Sunderngar and Mandi towns of the district.

Speeding was the cause of the accident, police said and added that a case has been registered and investigations were on.

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