British tourist killed as bike slips into gorge in Kinnaur

Shimla: A British national on a motorbike tour to the tribal Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh was killed when his vehicle slipped into a 500-meter-deep gorge near Kashang Nallah on Tuesday, police said.

The deceased tourist, identified as James Verat, was one of the eight bikers, all of them foreigners, who were on their way from Kalpa to Nako in Kinnaur, they added.

A joint team of the local police and a quick response team recovered Verat’s body from the gorge, the police said. The body has been handed over to his brother after the post-mortem, they added.

A large number of bikers, both from Indian and abroad, visit Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti districts of the hill state every year for biking and adventure tourism. The tribal areas offer tough terrain with scenic beauty.