PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Champawat
In a tragic accident, at least five people were killed and five others were injured when the vehicle they were travelling skidded off the National Highway-9 and plunged into a 200-meter deep gorge near Bagdhara in Barakot tehsil under Champawat district early Friday morning, at around 4 AM.
They were headed to Balatari of Gangolihat after attending a wedding. Upon receiving the information, an SDRF team, led by the constable, Rajendra Singh from Champawat Post, rushed to the scene and started a rescue operation.
With the help of the locals, Health department officers and the district police personnel, the SDRF team pulled out the five injured from the gorge and sent them to Lohaghat sub-district hospital. According to them, five of the passengers had died on the spot. “Despite the steep slope and difficult terrain, the SDRF team, using a rope system and stretchers, safely retrieved the bodies of all the deceased from the ravine. The bodies were later handed over to the district police,” a police officer who was overseeing the rescue operation said.
The deceased were identified as Prakash Chandra Uniyal (40), Kewal Chandra Uniyal (35), Suresh Nautiyal (32), Priyanshu Chaubey (six) and Bhavana Chaubey (28).
The additional district magistrate, Krishnanath Goswami has directed the sub-divisional magistrate, Lohaghat to conduct a magisterial inquiry into the accident. Relief funds have also been released by the district administration.
The chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami condoled the loss of lives and directed the Health department to provide all necessary medical facilities for the proper treatment of the injured.
