5 of family drown as SUV falls into Alaknanda river in Uttarakhand’s Tehri

Five people of a family from Faridabad drowned when the SUV they were travelling in fell into a river in Tehri district of Uttarakhand early on Saturday, police said.

A Mahindra Thar carrying six people crashed near Bagwan village on the Badrinath National Highway around 6 am and fell into the Alaknanda river, Devprayag Station House Officer Mahipal Singh Rawat said.

One woman was rescued by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).

According to the SHO, the family from Faridabad were on their way to attend a marriage in Gauchar in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, when the accident happened.

The deceased have been identified as Sunil Gusain (44), his wife Meena, their son Dhairya (14) and daughter Sujal (12), and Aditya (16), son of Madan Singh Gusain.

Aditya’s mother Anita was rescued and hospitalised with serious injuries, the SHO said.

Sunil Gusain was driving the car, he said.

The deceased couple and their two children were residents of 4800 Sainik Colony in Faridabad, while Aditya was a resident of Durga Colony in Roorkee.

The bodies were recovered after hours of search operation conducted in the river by the deep divers of SDRF and police personnel, the SHO said.

He said the bodies have been sent to Base Hospital in Srikot in a government ambulance.