The jeep (circled) on the riverbank. Telegraph picture

Gangtok, Nov. 23: Six Sikkim school students, who were on their way to Kalimpong for a picnic, were killed early this morning when their Mahindra Maxx skidded off the road and fell 800 feet down a gorge.

The accident took place near Tumin in East Sikkim, about 50km from Gangtok.

Kunzang Bhutia, 20, Diki Ongmo, 20, Pemkit Lepcha, 18, Mani Bahadur Rai, 20, Sagar Gurung, 19, and Kalden Bhu- tia, 19, were in Class XII of Mangan Government Senior Secondary School. Milan Pradhan, who was driving the Maxx, was also killed.

East Sikkim superintendent of police M.S. Tuli said the vehicle had left Mangan around 2.30am for Delo, a popular picnic spot near Kalimpong.

Mangan, 60km from here, is the North Sikkim district headquarters.

“At Tumin, the jeep was refuelled around 5am. Unable to negotiate a sharp bend, it plunged into the Rangchang river about 2km from the pump,” Tuli said.

The officer said there were several possibilities. “The driver could have been speeding and missed the turn in the dark or he could have dozed off.”

The police had started looking for possible survivors and more victims when an attendant of the fuel pump at Tumin confirmed that the vehicle had seven people.

The residents of Kokoley village, across the river, were woken up by the sound of heavy metal crashing into rocks as the vehicle came tumbling down the slope. The villagers called the police.

“It is especially unfortunate because these boys and girls were on a fun-filled Sunday outing,” said Hishey Lachungpa, the Sikkim health minister and local MLA.