At least seven people were killed when a Bolero SUV rolled down into a deep gorge near Antravali in Chopal of District Shimla in the wee hours on Monday.
The deceased include five from one family and have been identified as Sandhi Devi (43), her daughters Sushma (30), Raveena (27), Nisha (25) and son Kailash (22).
The accident occurred at 2.30 am, while the family was returning from Churdhar, a religious centre in Sirmaur district, and travelling towards Kafota. The victims have been identified as residents of Shaudi village of Paonta subdivision of Sirmaur district. There were total 12 passengers in the vehicle at the time of accident.
The other two deceased have been identified as Shivani (15) and Gulab Singh(42). The other five injured have been admitted in IGMC, Shimla as they also had got serious injuries.
Police said the seven passengers had died on the spot. Owner of the vehicle, Kalyan Singh was also travelling in the jeep and is among the injured with the driver. Though the exact cause of mishap is yet to ascertained, but police said the vehicle got out of control near Antravali and plunged into the gorge.
Rohan Chand Thakur, Deputy Commissioner, Shimla said a compensation of Rs 50,000 each had been given to the family of the deceased persons and Rs 5, 000 each to the injured persons as immediate relief.
He said that all the bodies were brought to Civil Hospital and by evening the bodies of the deceased were handed over to the relatives after post mortem.
This is the second major road mishap in Himachal Pradesh within a fortnight. On June 15, 10 lives were lost when an over-packed bus had plunged into a gorge near Dehra in Kangra district.