Five persons were reported to have died and five others were seriously injured when the jeep they were travelling in slipped off the road into a deep gorge near Satgarh at Kanalichina, 60 kilometers from Dharchula in Pithoragarh district on Sunday. Chief minister Harish Rawat has expressed grief at the accident. He has directed the district administration to provide ex-gratia to the bereaved families and ensure proper treatment of the injured persons.
According to police sources, the accident took place at around 4.45 pm on Sunday/ The police swung into rescue operation upon being informed about the mishap by the local residents. The injured were rescued and admitted to the local hospital through the emergency ambulance service while the bodies were sent for post mortem examination. The police further informed that the 10 persons in the jeep-cab were travelling to Pithoragarh from Dharchula.
Sources informed that while two passengers had died on the spot, three passengers had died in the hospital. Five persons are being treated in the local hospital.
It should be noted here that various factors including rash driving, damaged condition of roads and improper or lack of guard railings on the edge of mountain roads have continued to cause accidents at an alarming frequency on the mountain roads of the State. Observers state that though the elected public representatives express grief and concern after each accident, little concrete has been done by the State Government towards mitigating such mishaps.