Uttarakhand / 13 killed, 5 injured as vehicle falls into ditch in Uttarakhand's Dehradun

Chakrata: At least 13 people were killed and four others injured in Uttarakhand's Chakrata on Sunday after a utility vehicle they were travelling in fell into a ditch, officials said. Rescue work commenced immediately after news of the accident spread, and officials confirmed that emergency responders are present at the spot carrying out the relief efforts with the help of local residents.

Satendra Bhati, the station house officer of Chakrata, said that as of now, 13 bodies have been recovered from the spot. "Their bodies were taken out from the accident site with the help of local villagers who were the first to reach there," he said. “As it is a very remote area, rescue personnel are facing difficulties in reaching the spot, which is about 300 ft deep adjacent to the road.”

The accident spot, according to officials, is in a remote area of Tiuni in the Chakrata tehsil, about 170km from the state capital of Dehradun.

ANI news agency reported that the accident occurred on the Bulhad-Baila road of the tehsil and the state disaster management (SDM) unit of Chakrata rushed to the spot along with police officials. A company of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) was also deployed to carry out the rescue efforts, the agency reported.

According to a report by HT's sister publication Live Hindustan, the leader of opposition in Uttarakhand, Pritam Singh, is also on his way to the site after receiving news of the accident.

Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the Chakrata road accident. He also directed the transport department to ensure that there is no overloading in the vehicles and take action when they find similar instances. He also appealed to the people of the state to not allow overloading of vehicles so that such incidents such as this no not recur.