2 killed, 1 injured as pickup plunges into gorge in Pithoragarh

Pithoragarh: Two persons were killed and another injured after a pickup vehicle plunged into a 200-metre-deep gorge on the Munsyari-Milam road in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district on Sunday evening. The accident occurred in a remote area and authorities were informed only the following day.

The first alert was received by an ITBP post, which subsequently informed the district administration. Villagers, police personnel, SDRF teams and ITBP personnel launched a rescue operation. After nearly eight hours of effort, rescuers recovered the bodies of two labourers and rescued the injured driver early on Monday.

Those who died are Maninder Ram (32), a resident of Pangu village in Dharchula, and Prakash, a Nepalese national residing in Munsyari. The injured driver, Jagat Singh Rana (34), survived after jumping from the vehicle. He was admitted to the primary health center in Munsyari.

District disaster management officer Bhupendra Singh Mahar said, “The vehicle was returning to Munsyari after unloading goods at Laspa when the driver allegedly lost control near Rasgadi, causing it to plunge into the gorge.”