5 killed as car falls into 500-metre gorge near Nainital’s Kainchi Dham

LUCKNOW: A family trip to Uttarakhand’s famed Kainchi Dham ended in tragedy on Thursday after a car carrying a Lucknow-based medical company officer, his wife, two sons and driver plunged nearly 500 metres into a deep gorge in Nainital district, killing all five occupants on the spot.The deceased were identified as Bhupendra Singh Chufal (48), his wife Seema Kaida Chufal (45), their sons Vasu Chufal (19) and Ravi Chufal (12), and driver Anuj Kumar Mishra (34).According to police, the accident took place near Dhaila village on the Sanatorium-Ratighat bypass road in Bhawali area of Nainital district. Officials said the vehicle lost control while negotiating the hilly stretch and plunged into a gorge nearly 500 metres deep.Bhupendra Chufal, originally a resident of Khatima in Uttarakhand, was employed as an officer at Q-Line Innovation Private Limited, a medical equipment manufacturing company located in Transport Nagar, Lucknow. He had been living for the past one-and-a-half years at JB Castle Apartment in Krishna Nagar area of Lucknow, said the police.According to apartment owner Rajesh Upadhyay, Chufal lived alone in the rented flat as his wife and children stayed in Delhi for the education of the children. Family members frequently travelled between Delhi and Lucknow.Residents of the apartment complex said the family had planned a religious trip to Kainchi Dham. Apartment guard Ashok Kumar recalled that about a week ago, driver Anuj Mishra had informed him that he would first travel to Delhi with Bhupendra Chufal before proceeding to Uttarakhand along with the family.Superintendent of police, Nainital, Manjunath TC, said police and SDRF teams rushed to the spot after receiving information about the accident. However, due to the extremely difficult terrain and deep gorge, rescue personnel faced major challenges in retrieving the bodies.The bodies were later recovered and sent for postmortem examination. Police are also investigating the exact cause of the crash, though preliminary findings suggest the driver may have lost control of the vehicle on the mountainous road.Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed grief over the incident and conveyed condolences to the bereaved family members.