New Delhi, Aug 25 (IANS): Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday condoled the death of plantation workers in Kerala's Wayanad road accident and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.
In a tweet, Kharge said, "Extremely pained to hear about the terrible jeep tragedy which took the precious lives of many plantation workers, among others, at Mananthavady in Wayanad district of Kerala."
"In this hour of grief, our deepest condolences to the families of the victims. Our thoughts and empathy are with the injured and we wish them a speedy recovery," he said.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi, who is a Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad parliamentary seat in a tweet said, "Deeply saddened by the tragic jeep accident that took the lives of many tea plantation workers in Mananthavady, Wayanad."
"Have spoken to the district authorities, urging a swift response. My thoughts are with the grieving families. Wish a speedy recovery to those injured," he added.
The remarks from the Congress leaders came after nine people, all women, were reportedly killed while three others critically injured after a jeep carrying 12 people fell into a 30-metre deep gorge near Mananthavady in Wayanad district on Friday.
The passengers on the ill-fated jeep are women labourers working in a tea estate and were returning back to their home.
The incident occurred at around 3.30 p.m. and rescue operations began quickly amid challenges due to the rocky terrain.