DEHRADUN: A wedding trip turned tragic late Wednesday night when a Scorpio carrying five young men plunged nearly 300 metres down a deep gorge on the treacherous Gular-Motor road in Tehri district. The accident claimed the lives of Vimal Kandiyal (31), Rahul Kaluda (23), and Ashish Kaluda (26), while Nikhil Ramola (21) and Tanuj Pundir (26) were critically injured, with Nikhil in serious condition.

The group was travelling from Shyampur, Rishikesh, to attend a wedding in the remote Naigaon village under the Narendranagar block when the vehicle veered off the road around 8 PM, approximately 18 kilometres from Gular, near Kundiya village.

The accident came to light when Nikhil Ramola, despite his injuries, managed to call a friend and share his Google location, enabling police and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams to reach the site promptly.

By the time the SDRF team and local police arrived, three of the youths had already succumbed to their injuries.

“By the time our team reached the spot, Vimal, Rahul, and Ashish had already succumbed to their injuries,” Inspector Kavindra Sajwan of the SDRF told TNIE. “Nikhil and Tanuj were found critically hurt.”

The deceased were residents of Shyampur, Rishikesh. Their bodies were handed over to district authorities after the rescue operation.

Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the exact cause of the vehicle losing control.