Three persons died on the spot and five sustained injuries after a driver lost control of his jeep cab, which fell off the Helang-Urgam motor road into the gorge about 200 metres below near Salna on Monday.
The jeep was carrying a total of eight persons of whom the five injured have been admitted in community health centre of Joshimath where they are undergoing medical treatment for their injuries.
According to information received, the jeep with license plate number UK-11-TA-0248 was being driven from Joshimath to Urgam when it met with an accident during the afternoon time. At present, the exact cause of the mishap has not been ascertained. Among the three fatalities, three women and one man died on the spot at the accident site. Emergency ambulance service and police along with district administration officials reached the site on being informed about the accident.
The three persons killed in the accident have been identified as Badginda village resident Kamala Devi aged 50 years, Devgram village resident Pushpa Devi aged 58 years and Palla resident Raju lal aged 40 years.
The persons who were injured in the mishap have been identified as lyari village resident Gopal Singh aged 60 years, Palla village resident Hitav Singh aged 55 years, Salna village resident Balveer Singh aged 42 years, Badginda village resident Ganga Singh and Palla village resident Narendra Singh aged 45 years.