Eight people, mostly women, were killed when a jeep they were travelling in fell into a gorge in Kerala's Wayanad district on Friday, the police said.
They said there were at least 12 people in the jeep when it met with an accident around 3:30 pm on the state's Valad-Mananthavady road.
"The jeep was on its way to Makkimala with women who work at a private tea estate," a local said.
The victims were rushed to a hospital, where eight died, the police said.
"At least two people are critical," a senior police official told news agency PTI.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan directed Forest Minister AK Saseendran, who was in Kozhikode, to rush to the accident site.
He gave directions to coordinate all measures including the treatment of the injured and take care of other necessary things, a statement from the Chief Minister's Office said.
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