6 killed as vehicle falls into river

Shimla (IANS). Six people, including five policemen, were killed and five others injured when a vehicle skidded off the road and fell into the Seul river in Himachal Pradesh’s Chamba district on Friday.

Nine policemen from Sakoh near Dharamshala were on their way to join duty at Teesa, located on the border of Chamba and Doda districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

They were traveling in a private chartered vehicle.

Deputy Commissioner Apoorva Devgan told the media that rescue operations were on.

An NDRF team has reached the spot and is trying to pull out the bodies from the river.

Eyewitnesses said that rescue workers had to work hard to get the victims out of the badly damaged vehicle.

Expressing grief over the accident near Tarwai bridge, Chief Minister Sukhwinder Sukhu directed the officials to provide assistance to the families of the deceased.

Chamba is one of the most remote places in the state and the paucity of passenger buses in the district leads to excessive vehicular congestion.