Uttarakhand: Eight Nepalese citizens killed in Nainital road accident

Eight people, including seven Nepal citizens, were killed after their vehicle plunged into a gorge in Betalghat area of Nainital district on Monday night, the police said.

Aneesh Ahmed, station house officer (SHO) of Betalghat police station, said, “We rushed to the spot as soon as we received information and launched a rescue operation with the help of villagers and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). It took two hours as it was dark, and the gorge was deep. Seven Nepalese citizens and the driver died.”

Ahmed said the place of the accident is around 60km from the Nainital district headquarters. The deceased worked on a Jal Jeevan Mission project in Unchakot village of Betalghat. As the work got over, nine Nepalese labourers booked a vehicle to return home in Tanakpur of Champawat district via Ramnagar late Monday evening.

Around 10.30pm, driver Rajendra Kumar (38), a resident of Baskot village, lost control of the vehicle and plunged into a 200-metre gorge.

Villagers around the area rushed to the spot and informed the police. “I rushed to the spot with the SDRF team and started a rescue operation with the help of villagers”, the SHO said.

“Seven Nepalese citizens and the driver died on the spot. The deceased have been identified as Vish Ram (50), Dheeraj (45), Anant Ram Chaudhary (40), Vinod Chaudhary (38), Uday Ram Chaudhary (55), Tilak Ram Chaudhary (45) and Gopal (60). Two Nepalese citizens, Shanti Chaudhary and Chhotu Chaudhary, sustained injuries. They were all working for a contractor,” Ahmed said.