Daijiworld Media Network - Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand, Apr 12: In a tragic accident early Saturday, five members of a family from Faridabad drowned when their SUV fell into the Alaknanda River in Uttarakhand's Tehri district. The mishap occurred around 6 a.m. near Bagwan village along the Badrinath National Highway, according to Devprayag SHO Mahipal Singh Rawat.

The Mahindra Thar, carrying six people, was en route to a wedding in Gauchar, Chamoli district, when it veered off the road and plunged into the river. One woman, identified as Anita, was rescued by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and is undergoing treatment for serious injuries.

The deceased were identified as Sunil Gusain (44), his wife Meena, their children Dhairya (14) and Sujal (12), and Aditya (16), the son of Madan Singh Gusain. Sunil was reportedly driving the vehicle. While Sunil, Meena, and their children were residents of Sainik Colony in Faridabad, Aditya was from Durga Colony in Roorkee.

After several hours of a search operation involving deep divers and police personnel, the bodies were recovered and transported to the Base Hospital in Srikot for post-mortem. The incident has cast a pall of grief over the victims' hometowns as authorities continue to investigate the cause of the crash.