A holiday trip for two tourist families from Karnataka and Chhattisgarh ended on a devastating note on Sunday after the taxi they were travelling in plunged into a deep gorge in Himachal Pradesh’s Chamba district. All eight occupants of the car, including the driver, were killed in the incident, which occurred near the treacherous Kalaban bend on the Sach Pass-Bairagarh route in the tribal Churah region, officials said. 

The victims had travelled to the picturesque hill town, Dalhousie, for a vacation, when they met the ill-fate. The mishap has cast a sombre shadow over what was meant to be a scenic mountain excursion.

Vehicle fails to return, owner tracks it, laying bare the accident

Officials familiar with the case said one of the families from Bengaluru had hired a taxi in Dalhousie to explore the snow-clad mountains surrounding Sach Pass. During their stay, they struck a friendship with another tourist family lodged in the hill station, and the group set out for a sightseeing trip on Friday along the Bairagarh-Killar route via Sach Pass.

However, the situation took a grim turn when the taxi failed to return to Dalhousie as scheduled. As hours passed without any communication, the owner of the vehicle tracked it using its GPS system and discovered that it had remained stationary near Kalaban for an unusually long period. 

Fearing an accident, he immediately notified the authorities. They launched a search operation and learnt that the vehicle was travelling from Sach Pass towards Bairagarh on May 29, when it lost control near the sharp Kalaban bend and tumbled down a deep gorge. The authorities stationed at Bairagarh reported the incident to the Tissa police. 

Police teams, accompanied by local administration officials and rescue personnel rushed to the location and launched a search operation in the thick of the challenging terrain. Later, the rescuers made a harrowing discovery, as all eight occupants of the vehicle were found dead, and the car reduced to a mangled heap of metal remains. 

Victims identified, probe underway

The ones who died in the incident have been identified as Vishwas Salhota (driver), Arvind Chandrakar, Prachi, Darsh, Akshad, PG Karthighayan, Manimala and Nadan from Karnataka and Chhattisgarh. Their bodies were sent to the Government Medical College in Chamba for autopsy. 

Meanwhile, the police have registered a case and have launched a probe to ascertain the circumstances that led to the disastrous crash.