Shimla, Aug 17 (IANS): Seven people, including two women, were killed and six injured on Monday when an overcrowded private vehicle skidded off the road and fell into a 250-metre deep gorge in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district, police said.

The dead included a Nepali. Four of the injured were referred to the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital in Shimla.

The accident occurred near Dalash, 150 km from Shimla, police officer Santosh Kumar told IANS over phone.

According to police, the vehicle was overloaded with passengers when the accident took place.

Witnesses told police the driver of the Mahindra Bolero SUV probably lost control over the vehicle when it was descending a steep gradient.

It took hours for rescuers and police to bring up the bodies from the gorge.

Witnesses said the administration had a tough time in extricating the victims from the vehicle, although residents started the rescue operations before the authorities could reach the spot.