Punjab Newsline | Manali
Two young men were killed and three others injured in a tragic road accident in Himachal Pradesh’s tourist town of Manali late Friday night. The accident occurred in the Old Manali area near Club House when a Maruti Jimny SUV went out of control and plunged about 20 feet into a gorge, landing in the Manalsu stream below.
According to police, Jayant Tiwari, a hotel manager and resident of Jhalori in Uttarakhand’s Almora district, heard a loud crashing sound around 1 am. When he reached the spot, he found the black Jimny SUV (HP-26A-0011) lying in the stream below the road.
The victims were identified as Rohit Kumar (32), a resident of Jhiri in Mandi district, and Karun Baudh, a resident of Bajaura in Kullu district. Both died on the spot.
Three other occupants of the vehicle — Vivek, Naresh Kumar, and Urmila — sustained injuries and were rushed to a nearby hospital, where they are undergoing treatment.
DSP K.D. Sharma confirmed the incident and said that a case has been registered. Police have begun an investigation to determine the exact cause of the accident. Preliminary inquiries are focused on how the vehicle lost control and fell into the gorge.
The accident has cast a shadow over the popular tourist destination, where a large number of visitors are currently arriving during the monsoon season.
