7 killed after jeep falls into gorge in India

At least seven people were killed and four others injured after a jeep carrying them fell into a gorge in northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, officials said Friday.

The accident took place Thursday near Laachhi bridge in Thalisain of Pauri district, about 230 km southeast of Dehradun city, the capital of Uttarakhand.

"In a tragic accident here yesterday seven people were killed and four seriously injured when a private jeep carrying passengers fell into a deep gorge near Laachhi bridge of Thalisain tehsil," a police official said.

The jeep carrying passengers was on its way from Baijro to Jodimadi, when the driver lost control of the vehicle and it fell into gorge.

Following the accident police and locals carried out the rescue operations and took the injured to a nearest medical facility.

According to officials, the victims were identified as local residents.

The cause of accident was being ascertained. However, preliminary investigations carried out by the police said rash driving on the narrow hilly stretch could have led to the accident.

Deadly road accidents are common in India, often caused due to overloading, bad condition of roads and reckless driving.

Last year 146,133 people were killed and 500,279 others injured in 501,423 road accidents across India, a latest report released by India's ministry of road transport said.

Global Road Safety Report - 2015 released by WHO last year however said India accounts for more than 200,000 deaths annually due to road accidents. Endit