Munish Sood
Mandi
Three tourists lost their lives and two others, including an eight-year-old girl, were injured after a car plunged into a deep gorge near Sarsadi in Himachal Pradesh’s Manikaran Valley on Friday.
According to preliminary information, the vehicle, bearing a registration number from Jalandhar, Punjab, was carrying five tourists, believed to be members of the same family. The car reportedly veered off the road and rolled down a steep slope before coming to rest near the banks of the Parvati River.
The accident triggered an immediate rescue operation by local residents, who rushed to the scene after hearing cries for help. Eyewitnesses said the vehicle was severely mangled due to the impact, leaving the occupants trapped inside.
A heart-wrenching video from the rescue site has surfaced on social media, showing local people scrambling down the hillside to reach the wreckage. Two passengers were found alive inside the crushed vehicle, while an eight-year-old child was pulled out and rushed to safety. Rescuers had to break open parts of the damaged car to extricate the trapped victims, as the doors and windows had been jammed by the impact.
Three occupants succumbed to their injuries, with one of the injured reportedly dying while being transported for medical treatment. The remaining two survivors were shifted to a private hospital in Bhuntar, where they are undergoing treatment.
Police and administrative officials reached the spot and initiated an investigation to ascertain the exact cause of the accident. The identities of the deceased and injured were being verified at the time of filing this report.
The tragic incident has once again highlighted the dangers of mountain roads in the region, particularly during the peak tourist season when traffic movement increases significantly across the Kullu-Manikaran route.
