Two Dead, Two Injured, Child Missing After Punjab Pilgrims’ SUV Plunges into River

A spiritual journey turned into a devastating tragedy in Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla district when a Scorpio SUV carrying pilgrims from Punjab veered off the road and plunged nearly 100 metres into the Shalvi river near Jamradi area on the Nerwa-Fedzpul road.

The vehicle, en route to a satsang (spiritual congregation) in Dhar Chandna, Kupvi, was carrying five people — four adults and a child — when the accident occurred around 7.20 pm between Tandori and Bathal, approximately 50 km from Shimla.

According to DSP Sushant Sharma of Chopal, the deceased were identified as Gurmel Lal and Kumar Suchi, residents of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district (Nawanshahr) in Punjab and Shimla’s Nerwa tehsil, respectively. The injured, Balwinder Kaur and Keshav Kumar, both from Nawanshahr, were rushed to the Nerwa Civil Hospital, where their condition is stated to be critical.

Tragically, Balwinder Kaur’s 10-year-old son was swept away in the river’s strong currents following the crash. Rescue efforts by the police, emergency teams, and local residents began immediately but have been hampered by darkness and high water levels. Search operations continued through the night with no success in locating the child as of Sunday morning.

Eyewitnesses and local villagers who assisted in the initial rescue said that the vehicle appeared to have lost control on a sharp bend before tumbling down into the river. The SUV, bearing a Punjab registration number (PB-32G 8768), was later found mangled on the riverbed.

Police teams, accompanied by rescue personnel and volunteers, remain at the scene. “We are doing everything we can to find the missing child. Unfortunately, the river's flow is swift and dangerous,” DSP Sharma said.

The bodies of the deceased have been sent for postmortem at Nerwa Hospital, while authorities are also coordinating with families of the victims in Punjab.

The tragedy has cast a pall of gloom over the region, especially as the victims were on a spiritual visit. Authorities have urged drivers to exercise extreme caution, especially on hilly roads prone to landslides and sharp turns during the monsoon season.