Five persons sustained serious injuries when the vehicle they were travelling in plunged into a 35-feet-deep gorge near the Chidung Bridge of Paparkheti in Kalimpong on Tuesday.
The group had been to Lava for a picnic and were returning home to Dhupguri in Jalpaiguri.
The driver reportedly lost control at a steep curve of the hilly road, causing the vehicle to fall into the gorge. All five occupants were severely injured and the vehicle was badly mangled.
Members of other picnic groups and personnel from the traffic guard posted in Gorubathan rushed to the spot and rescued them.
A source said of the five, Balai Adhikari and Alok are from Gilandi and Moranga areas of Dhupguri block and Sourav Pal, Riju Pal and Parimal Roy are from Dhupguri town.
The injured were initially taken to a local primary health centre and were referred to the super-speciality hospital in Malbazaafter initial treatment.
Police have recovered the vehicle and initiated a probe.
M. Hossain, officer in charge of the Gorubathan traffic guard, said preliminary investigation suggests that the accident occurred because the driver lost control.
“A case has been registered and an investigation is in progress. After the injured were rescued, we engaged a police vehicle to shift them to the hospital,” he added.