Four killed, 9 injured as vehicle plunges into gorge in Himachal's Sirmaur

Four people were killed and nine others injured when a vehicle carrying them plunged into a gorge near Gatlog in Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur district, police said on Wednesday.

The accident occurred late Tuesday night when the victims were returning from a hospital with the body of a man after he was declared dead at a hospital in Sangrah following a heart attack, they said.

The injured were shifted to the Medical College in Nahan, and the condition of four of them is critical, the police said.

According to the police, family members and villagers were bringing back the body of Jagdish Sharma, who died of a heart attack.

Those who died in the accident were identified as Rajendra (37) and Des Raj (23), residents of Arlu village, and Rikhi Ram (58) and Ram Gopal (62), residents of Chinad village in Sirmaur district, the police said.

Expressing heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu directed the district administration to provide all possible assistance to the affected families.

He said that the state government stands firmly with the bereaved families during this difficult hour.