Seven tourists from Bengaluru and a local driver were feared dead in Himachal Pradesh’s Chamba district after a taxi carrying them reportedly plunged into a deep gorge on the treacherous Bairagarh-Sach Pass-Killar road in the remote Churah subdivision on Friday night.

Authorities fear that all occupants of the vehicle died in the accident. The deceased tourists included two children.

The accident, near Sach Pass, one of Himachal Pradesh’s most challenging and hazardous mountain routes, came to light only on Saturday afternoon, when locals and officials began searching for the missing vehicle from Chamba. There were no witnesses to the incident.

According to officials, the vehicle fell nearly 500 metres into a gorge, making rescue operations extremely difficult. Steep terrain, adverse weather conditions, and the complete absence of mobile connectivity in the region further complicated efforts to reach the accident site and recover the victims.

Mukesh Repaswal, Deputy Commissioner, Chamba, said the administration was relying on satellite communication because conventional mobile networks were unavailable in the accident zone.

“The location where the road accident took place is a remote area. Superintendent of Police Vijay Saklani is on the spot. We are communicating through satellite phones as there are no mobile signals in the area. Apparently, all eight people, including two children, are dead. The rescue teams have started the process of retrieving the bodies from the deep gorge, and it will take two to three more hours to bring all the bodies to the roadside,” Repaswal told The Indian Express.

Repaswal cautioned against drawing conclusions regarding the cause of the accident. “At this moment, it would be premature to comment on the exact reasons behind the incident because there were no eyewitnesses present when the accident occurred. A detailed inquiry will be conducted once the rescue and recovery operations are completed,” he said.

A senior police officer said authorities had compiled details of the vehicle’s occupants but were awaiting formal identification by family members before releasing official details. “We have gathered details of eight people, including two children from Bengaluru, Karnataka, along with a local driver, who are missing and feared dead. The identities of the victims will be officially released only after the bodies are identified by their family members, who have already been informed,” the officer said.

The officer added that the difficult terrain and weather conditions had slowed the recovery process, with rescue teams working under extremely challenging circumstances.

Initial investigations suggest that a family from Bengaluru had hired a Maruti Ertiga in Dalhousie for a sightseeing trip to the snow-covered Sach Pass region. The family reportedly shared the vehicle with another tourist family staying in Dalhousie. The group left for the Bairagarh-Killar route via Sach Pass on Friday. According to preliminary information, the tourists departed from Bairagarh around noon and proceeded towards the high-altitude pass to experience snowfall and mountain scenery.

Those reported missing are identified as taxi driver Vishwas, a resident of Banikhet in Chamba. Arvind Chandrakar, his wife Prachi Chandrakar, their 8-year-old son Darsh Chandrakar, and 11-year-old Akshad (all residents of Kadugodi in Bengaluru), P G Karthikeyan, his wife Manimala Karthikeyan, and one Nandan (all residents of Bengaluru).

On May 11, five tourists from Gujarat and one driver of an SUV from Himachal Pradesh were killed in a road accident near Kakira in the same district when they were going from Manali to Dalhousie. The tourists were identified as Lalit Bhai Fatnani, his wife Mamta Ben Fatnani, Priyank Kanihya Lal Bhopani, his wife Kajal Bhopani, and their son Divyansh Bhopani.

GPS trail triggered search operation

Sources said that concern arose when the taxi failed to return to Dalhousie within the expected time. As hours passed without any contact from the tourists or the driver, the vehicle owner feared that something had gone wrong. The owner subsequently checked the vehicle’s GPS location, which showed the taxi stationary near the Kalavan area for an unusually long period. The absence of movement raised alarm, prompting local residents and authorities to launch a search operation.

The Bairagarh-Sach Pass-Killar road is regarded as one of the most dangerous mountain routes in Himachal Pradesh. The road traverses high-altitude terrain, sharp bends, narrow stretches and steep cliffs, while unpredictable weather conditions often increase the risk for motorists.