10 killed as car falls into gorge in India

June 23

At least 10 people were killed Thursday after a car they were traveling in fell into a deep gorge in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, officials said.

The accident took place in Munsiyari town of Pithoragarh district, about 441 km east of Dehradun, the capital city of Uttarakhand.

"Today a car carrying 10 people, including the driver, skidded off a mountainous road and fell into a 600-feet deep gorge in the Munsiyari area. All the people -- nine men and one woman -- inside the vehicle were killed," an official of the disaster management office in Pithoragarh said.

"We have retrieved all the bodies from the gorge and are completing formalities to hand over them to their respective families," the official said.

According to officials, the victims identified as residents from the neighboring Bageshwar district were on their way to pay a visit to a Hindu temple.

Reports said the condition of the road was slippery due to overnight heavy rains in the area.

xinhua