3 dead as car falls into gorge in Almora dist

Bageshwar: Three people, including an 11-month-old baby, were killed and five others were injured after a car returning from a wedding plunged into a 150 m-deep gorge on Takula-Almora road on Thursday evening, police said. The accident happened near Basoli between Churadi and Mahendra Club when the Delhi-registered vehicle went out of control on a sharp bend, police said.The victims, barring the driver, were residents of Bageshwar district and were on their way back to Delhi after attending a wedding in Jhijhad village. The deceased include 11-month-old Rehan Arya, Manju Devi (44), a resident of Kande, and Dinesh Ram (50), a resident of Jhijhad.Officials said the fire service control room in Almora received information about the accident around 5.12 pm. Police from Takula outpost, fire service personnel and local villagers rushed to the spot and launched a joint rescue operation. The injured were pulled out of the gorge with considerable difficulty and taken to Takula primary health centre. They were later referred to Almora Base Hospital for advanced treatment.The injured were identified as Rehan's mother, Jaya (25) and father, Mahesh Arya (28), of Thapaniya; Gopal Arya (50) and Sanjay Kumar (21), both from of Kande; and driver Arjun Kumar (35), a resident of Fatehpur Beri in south Delhi. Two of the injured were in critical condition.Police said the car, bearing registration number DL-9CBH-8402, was carrying relatives from the bride's side.