At least eight people died in two separate road accidents, including a one-and-half-year-old child and a minor, while five others are reported to be critically injured. The deaths in the two mishaps on Tuesday have once again raised questions on the safety measures being taken by the authorities on the mountainous routes and plains in Uttarakhand.
The first accident happened at 5.30 am near Nainbagh in Tehri district where a Swift car fell off the road into a 350 metre deep gorge. The deceased in the accident have been identified as driver and owner of the car Baburam Gaur (46), Darshani Devi (45), Reena (28), 17-year-old Happy Gaur and a one-and-half-year-old girl Shanu.
The injured — Babita (30) and Ankush (20) — were sent to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh through by helicopter.
Nainbagh police post in-charge Himmat Singh said all the deceased and injured belong to the same family from Lakhamandal.
He said the sister in-law of deceased Baburam Gaur committed suicide on Monday by consuming poison. The family brought her to Dehradun for treatment where the doctors declared her dead. The family was taking her body back to their residence at Lakhamandal when the accident happened.
While the body was transported in ambulance seven members of the family were in a car behind.
Singh said, “Prima facie it appers that either the driver might have dozed off or maybe the visibility was affected by foggy conditions at that time. The bodies have been handed over to the family after post-mortem.”
In the second mishap, in Haridwar district, a head on collision between a truck and an Innova car on Roorkee-Delhi highway caused the deaths of three people on the spot while two others were seriously injured.
Jwalapur police station officer Amarjeet Singh said, “One Innova from Haryana packed with pilgrims was being driven from Haryana towards Haridwar. Near Belra village, a speeding truck came from the opposite side and collided with the car, resulting in the death of three persons on the spot.”
The truck driver after the accident ran away from the spot. Some members of Gujjar community staying nearby rescued the other two passengers and informed police.
