Six people including five trekkers from West Bengal were killed on Wednesday when the SUV they were travelling in fell into a gorge in Tehri district and caught fire.
The accident occurred near Kotigad on the Rishikesh-Gangotri highway when the SUV, carrying the team of trekkers from Haridwar to Kedartal-Gangotri, fell into the gorge, District Magistrate Iva Ashish Shrivastava said.
The vehicle fell into a 50-metre-deep gorge and burst into flames in which all the six occupants of the vehicle including the driver were charred to death.
A magisterial probe has been ordered into the mishap to ascertain the cause of, she said.
The vehicle, a Bolero, bore a Uttarakhand number but the trekkers travelling in it were from West Bengal.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami who was on a visit to Pithoragarh to inaugurate some development projects and also lay foundation stones for some others expressed grief at the loss of lives in the accident.
The victims were identified as Madan Mohan Bhuinyan, his wife Jhumru Bhuinyan, their son Nilesh Bhuinyan, Pradeep Das, Devmalya Dev and the driver Ashish.
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