Two trucks collided head-on inside the Hanogi Tunnel in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district on Thursday, killing four people and injuring six others, police said. Three people died on the spot, while another succumbed to injuries later, police said.
Mandi Superintendent of Police Vinod Kumar said police have launched an investigation to ascertain the cause of the accident. One of the trucks was travelling from Mandi towards Kullu, while the other was coming from the opposite direction.
The deceased were identified as Shakeel (20), Vishal (21) and Ravi Kumar (22), all residents of Uttar Pradesh, while the fourth victim, Meghnath Sharma (39), was from Bihar.
The injured were identified as Deepak, Aijat, Deepak, Sahzad, Bhagirath and Mukesh Kumar, police said.
Case filed against rash driving
A case has been registered under Sections 281 (rash driving), 126(a)(wrongful restraint) and 106(1)(causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, they said.
The injured were referred to Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Medical College & Hospital at Nerchowk town and Kullu hospital.
Traffic movement inside the tunnel was disrupted for some time following the crash.
In a separate incident, a government bus travelling from Jablu to Ghumarwin collided with a private bus on the Bhaged-Panaul road.
The government bus, carrying around 40 people, came to a halt against a roadside parapet, narrowly averting a major tragedy, officials said.
Passengers on board sustained minor scratches, and no major injuries were reported, they said.
(With agency inputs)