Eight including 1-yr-old dead in two car accidents in Uttarakhand

At least eight people were killed and four others were injured in two separate accidents in Tehri Garhwal and Roorkee areas of Uttarakhand on Tuesday morning, said officials.

One incident happened in Nainbagh area of Tehri Garhwal district about 90 kms away from Dehradun in which five of family including a 1-year-old baby and 17-year-old boy died and two others were injured after the car they were travelling in fell into a 300m gorge near Yamuna river.

“The accident happened on Nainbagh-Vikasnagar road in Tehri Garhwal at around 7.30 am. The local police received information about it at around 8 am and reached the spot soon with SDRF personnel. There were seven people in the car out of which five died on the spot,” said Vijay Uniyal, SDRF spokesperson.

All the seven were from the same family and hailed from Lakhamandal area of Dehradun district.

“So far in the initial investigation it seems that they were travelling from Dehradun to Lakhamandal which is about 100 km away from Dehradun. It appears that the driver lost control of the car which then plunged into a 300m gorge near Yamuna river from Silasu bridge. The rescue team recovered the bodies from the accident spot and also rushed the two injured to a nearby hospital for treatment from where they were airlifted to Jolly Grant hospital in Dehradun,” said Uniyal.

In the other incident which happened in Roorkee of Haridwar district, three people were killed while two others were injured after their car hit an incoming truck in a head-on clash on Tuesday early morning.

“The incident happened at around 5.15 am on Delhi-Haridwar highway. Police reached the spot soon after it got the information. Three of the five died on the spot while two sustained grave injuries. All five in the car, hailed from Faridabad, Haryana and were heading towards Haridwar, said Amarjit Singh, station house officer, Roorkee police station.

He added, “In the initial Investigation it was found that the accident happened when the driver of the car tried to overtake. In the process he misjudged his move and hit a truck coming from opposite side. The family members of the deceased were informed about the incident after availing their address from vehicle’s registration number.”

“The two injured after providing primary treatment in a nearby hospital were shifted to Safdarjung hospital in Delhi.”

The two accidents happend just after two days of the major accident in Chamoli on Sunday in which eight people died while five were injured along with one missing, after their vehicle fell into a 500m gorge near a river. Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Monday had announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the family members of deceased while Rs 50,000 each for the injured.