3 persons, including 2 tourists, killed as SUV falls into

Gangtok — Three persons, including two tourists from West Bengal, were killed on Tuesday as their SUV skidded off a road and fell into a gorge in East Sikkim, police said.

The accident took place at Keew Khola in Pakyong police station area when the driver of the SUV, carrying a group of ten tourists from the neighbouring state, lost control of the vehicle, they said.

The SUV, a Tata Sumo which was going to Pelling in West Sikkim from Zuluk in East Sikkim district, skidded off the road and fell into the gorge, Superintendent of Police Hari Chettri said.

Two of the tourists, identified as Jharna Saha and Hrishpriya Ghose, and the driver, Suraj Chettri, died at the spot, he said.

The bodies have been sent for postmortem, the officer said, adding that the seven injured persons have been admitted to a hospital for treatment.