Family of 4, driver on way to Kainchi dham killed after car falls into gorge

Nainital: Five people, including four members of a family and a driver, who were on their way to Kainchi dham, were killed after their car allegedly lost control and plunged into a deep gorge near Bhowali in Nainital district on Thursday afternoon.The incident occurred around 2.15pm on Sanatorium-Ratighat Bypass Road, roughly 500m east of Dhaila village, when the family was en route to their relative’s resort in Bhowali village, before visiting Kainchi dham. Police said the driver lost control of the vehicle while navigating a sharp bend, causing it to launch nearly 20m into the air before crashing into a tree and tumbling into the ravine.A joint rescue operation was launched by local police, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), and local residents.The deceased were identified as Bhupendra Singh Chufal (48), his wife Seema Kaida Chufal (45), their children Vasu (19) and Ravi (12), all from Khatima, along with their driver Anuj Kumar Mishra (34) from Alambagh, Lucknow. The family was originally from Khatima but were residing in Lucknow where Bhupendra worked as a chartered accountant.Police said the bodies have been sent for postmortem and an investigation has been initiated to determine the exact cause of the accident.