A joyous wedding procession turned into a scene of unimaginable tragedy in the early hours of Friday when a Mahindra Bolero carrying ten guests plunged over 300 feet into a dark gorge near Barakot on the Lohaghat–Champawat National Highway in Uttarakhand. Five persons, including a mother and her six-year-old son, died on the spot, while five others sustained grievous injuries in the horrific crash that occurred around midnight near Bagdhar village.
According to officials at the District Disaster Control Room, the group was returning to Rudrapur and nearby areas after attending marriage rituals in a remote village. Eyewitnesses reported that the vehicle was negotiating a sharp, rain-wet curve when it suddenly skidded, broke through the flimsy roadside barrier, and somersaulted several times before disappearing into the abyss. The impact was so severe that the Bolero was reduced to a crumpled heap of metal wedged between boulders and trees deep inside the ravine.
A massive rescue operation was immediately launched involving local police, revenue officials, and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). SDRF Commandant Arpan Yaduwanshi, who supervised the operation, described it as “one of the most challenging extractions” his team had undertaken in recent times owing to pitch darkness, steep gradient, and slippery rocks. Ropes and specialised mountaineering equipment were used to lower rescuers and retrieve bodies and survivors over a gruelling four-hour effort that lasted until dawn.
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The deceased have been identified as Prakash Chand Uniyal (40), Kewal Chandra Uniyal (35), Suresh Nautiyal (32), all residents of Rudrapur; Bhavna Chaubey (28) and her six-year-old son Priyanshu Chaubey from Delhi. The five injured — driver Devidutt Pandey (38) of Almora, Dheeraj Uniyal (12), Rajesh Joshi (14), Chetan Chaubey (5), and Bhaskar Panda — were rushed to Lohaghat Sub-District Hospital. Doctors confirmed that the driver and one child remain in critical condition with multiple fractures and internal injuries.
Police have registered a case and seized the mangled vehicle for technical examination. Preliminary investigation points to a combination of excessive speed, poor road conditions after recent rainfall, and possible overloading as contributing factors. As mourning families gather at the hospital and mortuary, the tragedy has sent shockwaves across Uttarakhand, once again highlighting the perilous state of mountain highways during the wedding season.
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