Keylong: Three persons including a Punjab resident have been killed while three others sustained injuries after a truck (HP 72 8299) they were travelling in plunged into a deep gorge on Leh-Manali National Highway near Keylong, Lahaul and Spiti.

The deceased have been identified as Neeraj Chaudhary, resident of Mangu Mera, Hoshiarpur, Punjab, Lakshyadeep, resident of Bhanjal village in Una and Lalit Kumar, resident of Bhagatpur village in Jhandutta Tehsil, Bilaspur. The injured have been identified as Deepak (driver), resident of Dohg village in Bilaspur, Akbar and Jitendra Kumar, both residents of district Kishanganj, Bihar.

According to reports, the accident took place on Wednesday around 1:00 pm near Deepak Tal when a truck en route to Darcha from Zing Zing Bar and the driver lost control of the vehicle, killing three persons on the spot. The truck belonged to a contractor of Garg and Garg company.

A police team reached the spot, rescued the injured and recovered the dead bodies. 

The injured were rushed to Civil Hospital, Keylong where they are undergoing treatment. Postmortem of the deceased will also be conducted there after which the bodies will be handed over to their families for cremation.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Lahaul Spiti Manav Verma confirmed the report and said the police is conducting the investigation.