Seven die as vehicle falls into rivulet in India

NEW DELHI, Nov 16 (UNB): At least seven people were killed when a vehicle carrying a group of labourers veered off the road and rolled down into a rivulet in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh on Monday morning, police said.

The accident occurred at Pulghrat in Mandi district, some 132km from state capital Shimla, around 2.30pm IST.

"The pick-up vehicle carrying some 10 labourers from the eastern state of Bihar, was travelling towards Sundernagar from Mandi when the driver suddenly lost control of it while negotiating a bend, leading to the fatal accident," a senior police official told the media.

Local people retrieved six bodies from the Suketi rivulet in a search operation that lasted over two hours.

"Two injured labourers were also rescued from the rivulet and rushed to a nearby hospital, where one succumbed to his injuries later in the day," the official said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed grief over the loss of lives.