Thaindian News

Shimla, May 16 (IANS) Ten residents of Delhi, who were on a trip to Himachal Pradesh, were killed when their vehicle skidded off the road and fell into a 250-foot deep gorge near Chamba town in Himachal Pradesh Monday, police said.

The dead included two women and four children.

Two injured were admitted to the Zonal Hospital in Chamba, some 450 km from state capital Shimla.

The victims, belonging to three families, were coming to Chamba from Khajjiar, Superintendent of Police Madhu Sudan told IANS over phone.

He said the accident occurred near Mangla village on the Khajjiar-Chamba highway around 3 p.m. “The cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained,” he added.

All 10 people died on the spot. They have been identified as Sunil Sharma, Deepak Sharma, Yakinder Yadav, Shivam and Deen Dayal (all men) and Khushi Sharma, Aditi Sharma, Rozi, Seema and Kamya (all females).

Survivor Hema Sharma told police they lived in a colony behind the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi.

The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination and relatives of the victims have been informed, another police official said.

Governor Urmila Singh and Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal have expressed grief over the deaths in the accident.

Chamba district is one of the remotest places in the state.

On March 2, 34 members of a marriage party were killed when their vehicle fell into a gorge in the district.