4 killed, 6 injured in road accident in Sikkim

Gangtok: Four persons were killed and six others were critically injured in the early hours today when the vehicle in which they were travelling plunged off the road and fell into the ravine below at 3rd Mile on Dikchu-Rakdong road in East Sikkim, police said.

The dead included the driver of the vehicle, which was carrying a soccer team returning after playing a match, the police said. All the victims have been identified the police said adding the injured were rushed to the Central Referral Hospital here.

The police said that while none of the survivors are in a state to say what led to the tragic incident, investigators suspect that heavy rainfall in the area last night and low visibility at the sharp mountain turns in the highway could have led the driver to lose control over the vehicle.

The soccer team was returning from Khamdong village in East Sikkim after playing a match at the ongoing annual Independence Day football tournament. They were travelling in a multi utility vehicle, the police said.

3rd Mile, where the accident occured is about 35 km from Gangtok. The incident is being investigated, the police added.