By IANS,
Shimla : Thirty-three members of a marriage party were killed when their vehicle fell into a gorge in Himachal Pradesh while seven others died in another accident elsewhere, police said Thursday.
A mini truck packed with the marriage party rolled into a 500-metre-deep gorge near Sherpur village, some 50 km from Chamba town, Superintendent of Police Madhu Sudan told IANS on phone.
The dead were mainly men. There were also two children.
Police came to know about the accident at around midnight Wednesday. Sudan said the victims belonged to closely-knit families of Chaura village near the accident spot.
Another police officer said the accident spot had experienced continuous rainfall for two days.
In the other accident, a pick-up van carrying nine people fell into a gorge near Bharmour, 65 km from Chamba. The accident took place at around 8.15 p.m. Wednesday.
Seven bodies have been recovered, said Sudan.
Transport Minister Mohinder Singh said human negligence seemed to be responsible for both accidents.
Singh said that people should be persuaded not to travel in public goods carriers. “Travelling in such vehicles is quite prevalent during religious and marriage functions,” he added.