Four people died and three others were seriously injured when a car veered off NH10 and plunged into a 50-metre-deep gorge at Melli in Kalimpong late on Friday evening.

A source in the district administration stated that the mishap occurred around 8pm near Melli-Kirney, under the jurisdiction of the Kalimpong police station. The vehicle, a Maruti Wagon R, was travelling to Gangtok from Dooars.

“Four passengers of the vehicle died in the accident, while three others suffered grievous injuries. The injured have been shifted to a hospital in Sikkim for necessary treatment,” said Balasubramanian T., the district magistrate of Kalimpong.

The deceased — the driver Kamal Subba, 44, his daughter Samira Subba, 20, Januka Darjee, 35, and Nita Gurung, 58 — were residents of Bojojhari in east Sikkim’s
Third Mile.

The injured—Sunita Thapa, a minor boy and a girl from the same locality—are currently undergoing treatment.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the glare from the headlights of an approaching vehicle impaired the driver’s visibility.

Kalimpong and Sikkim police forces promptly arrived at the accident site, which is approximately 60km from Siliguri and around 20km from Kalimpong.

The Teesta Rangeet Rescue Centre & Welfare Association (TRRCWA) was also alerted, and they joined the rescue operations.

“We received information about the accident around 8.15pm and our team rushed to the spot. We retrieved the bodies and rescued the injured passengers, transported them to the primary health centre in Melli,” said Shanti Rai, the founder-president
of TRRCWA.

“After administering first aid, the on-duty doctors referred the injured to a hospital in Sikkim for further treatment,” he added.

The Kalimpong district police and administration continue to investigate the exact cause of the accident, while families of the victims have been notified, said a source.