Overview
- An SUV plunged into a roughly 500‑metre gorge near Chhatrund on Thursday, killing seven people from the same village, police said, and rescuers took hours to recover the bodies from remote, steep terrain.
- Earlier this week Chamba authorities recovered two bodies from a separate gorge plunge and registered a case as investigators continue to probe driver error as a likely cause in that incident.
- In Lahaul and Spiti a parked vehicle rolled down a slope and killed a 26‑year‑old woman and her 11‑month‑old son, with police registering a case and investigating whether the handbrake was not engaged.
- Uttarakhand’s Barakot crash saw a vehicle fall into a gorge and catch fire, leaving two dead and three children and adults rescued and hospitalised by SDRF teams after a difficult recovery.
- Local residents and officials have called for targeted safety fixes such as crash barriers, better road maintenance and faster emergency access, and state leaders have ordered assistance while formal probes proceed.