Shimla: Eight devotees from Punjab were killed when a private vehicle skidded off the road and fell into a gorge on the Chandigarh-Manali national highway in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh on early Friday, police said.
The devotees, belonging to Kale Ghanpur village near Amritsar town, were returning home after paying obeisance at a famous Sikh shrine at Manikaran in Kullu district when the accident occurred near Swarghat, about 120 km from the state capital.
One person was serious injuries and was admitted to a government hospital in Nalagarh.
"Most of the dead belonged to close-knit families," a police official told IANS.
Eyewitnesses said the Innova vehicle was overcrowded and the driver probably lost control while negotiating a turn.
Rescuers, mostly locals, had a tough time in extracting the victims from the vehicle, said an eyewitness.
The Manikaran shrine, located in the Parvati Valley along the banks of the Parvati river, is some 50 km from the Kullu district headquarters and 250 km from state capital Shimla.
It's one of the busiest Sikh shrines in north India and frequented by the devotees, especially during festivals like Holi.
The devotees, belonging to Kale Ghanpur village near Amritsar town, were returning home after paying obeisance at a famous Sikh shrine at Manikaran in Kullu district when the accident occurred near Swarghat, about 120 km from the state capital.
One person was serious injuries and was admitted to a government hospital in Nalagarh.
Eyewitnesses said the Innova vehicle was overcrowded and the driver probably lost control while negotiating a turn.
Advertisement
The Manikaran shrine, located in the Parvati Valley along the banks of the Parvati river, is some 50 km from the Kullu district headquarters and 250 km from state capital Shimla.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Death Count Rises To 8 In Himachal After Cloudburst, Rescue Ops On Video: Oil Tanker Overturns, Catches Fire In Himachal, 1 Dead Hyderabad Man Killed In Paragliding Accident in Himachal's Kullu, Pilot Arrested Parents Gave Names Of Interns, Doctors To CBI In Kolkata Horror: Sources How Extreme Weather Is Leading To Rise In Child Marriages In Pakistan 3 Days After Big Order On Deposits With SBI And PNB, Karnataka Hits Pause "Far From Over" But Joe Biden Has High Hopes For Gaza Ceasefire Indian Student In UK Develops Revolutionary Carbon-Extracting Biomaterial Video: Woman Tries To Jump Off Mumbai's Atal Setu, Saved By Driver, Cops Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.