Three people are missing and feared dead while five persons were injured when the pick-up jeep they were travelling in fell off the road into the Kalpganga river in Chamoli district on Thursday. According to official sources, the pick up met with the accident near the Urgam power house on the Helang-Urgam motor road in Joshimath Tehsil at about 8:30 AM. The driver of the jeep number UK0-11-CA-1068 is reported to have lost control of the vehicle due to which it fell off the road into the Kalpganga river. Three of the persons in the vehicle were carried away in the river while five others were injured. The injured were taken to the district hospital in Gopeshwar for treatment.
On receiving information about the mishap, the Chamoli district magistrate Swati S Bhadauriya also reached the site of the accident. Personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Revenue and police departments were reported to be searching for the missing persons.
The persons missing have been identified as 35 year old Sateshwari Singh, Anjani Singh (38 years) and Subhash Singh (35 years). The injured have been identified as Uma Singh (40 years), Savitri Singh (32 years), Nanda Singh (22 years), Harshvardhan Singh (36 years) and Durga Singh (40 years). They are being treated at the district hospital in Gopeshwar. The Chamoli district superintendent of police Tripti Bhatt and sub divisional magistrate Yogendra Singh were also present with the rescue team.
After visiting the accident site, the district magistrate went to the district hospital to check on the injured persons. The search for the three missing persons was underway till the time of this report being filed.