Nine killed, eleven injured in road accident in HP

Shimla, Dec 14 (UNI) Nine members of a marriage party, including a newly wed couple, were killed and 11 injured after their vehicle skidded off the road and fell into a deep gorge here last night, police source said today.

The Mahindra utility vehicle skidded off the road between Umladwar and Ghaasidhar, about 75 km from here, on the Narkanda-Ghadrala road. The marriage party was returning to their native village from Tikkar in the district after the marriage ceremony.

The sources said five women and the newly couple, identified as Vijay Kumar and Vidya Devi, were among nine people killed in the accident late last night.

The six injured have been identified as Pramod, Babu Ram, Sharan Dass, Gyan Mehta, Dhan Prakash and Kumari Renu, while the rest were yet to be identified, the sources said.

They said the dead have been identified as Bhag Singh, Meena Devi, Kamla, Sandeep, Kumari Bobbuy and Sandhira Devi, adding the identity of another person was yet to be identified.

Five of the seriously injured, including Kumari Renu, have been admitted to Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMC) here, they said.

Senior district officials reached to the accident site along with a medical team last night for supervising rescue and relief operations, which were hampered due to darkness, the sources said.

The Shimla district administration has announced an immediate relief of Rs 10,000 each to the next of the kin of the dead and Rs 1,000 each to the people injured in the accident.

Governor V S Kokje, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and several of his cabinet colleagues have expressed grief and sorrow over the accident, while conveying their condolences to the bereaved families.

The Chief Minister also directed the district administration to provide all possible assistance to the affected families.

UNI AS HS LAS DS1622