DEHRADUN: Five devotees were killed and two remain missing after an Innova carrying seven people plunged into a gorge and fell into a river on the Gangotri National Highway in Uttarkashi district on Thursday.
Rescue teams have recovered the bodies of five victims. The accident took place near Gangnani, about 20 metres beyond a hot spring on the road towards Dabrani. The vehicle reportedly went out of control and plunged into a deep gorge before landing in the river.
The occupants were travelling to Gangotri Dham. According to initial information, six passengers were from Gujarat and the seventh person was the driver. The vehicle had set out from the Hina area earlier in the morning.
Police, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and emergency medical teams were sent to the site after authorities received information about the accident. Rescue personnel began searching the riverbank and nearby areas. The search for the two missing people was continuing.
District Disaster Management Officer Shardul Gusain said teams had been deployed as soon as the accident was reported.
"On receiving information that an Innova had fallen into the river near Gangnani, police, SDRF and emergency service teams were sent to the spot. Rescue operations are under way. Five bodies have so far been recovered from the riverbank, and a search is continuing for the other occupants," he said.
Gusain said the final number of people killed and missing would be confirmed after the rescue operation was completed.
District Magistrate Prashant Arya directed the response teams to coordinate relief and rescue efforts. The accident drew a large emergency response as teams searched along the river and around the crash site.
The precise cause of the accident was not immediately known. Officials had not confirmed the identities of those recovered by Thursday, and the search was continuing amid difficult conditions at the site.
The Gangotri National Highway is a key route for pilgrims travelling to the Himalayan shrine. The accident turned the group’s journey to the dham into a tragedy, with families awaiting confirmation about those still unaccounted for.
Authorities said the operation would continue until the missing people were traced. The number of casualties and the circumstances of the crash are expected to be confirmed once the search and other formalities are complete.