Seven persons were killed while four others injured when the vehicle they were riding in fell into the Siul river after being hit by a landslide in Chamba district on Friday, officials said.

The opposition BJP has demanded a high-level inquiry into the accident.

The vehicle carrying 11 persons was on its way from Bairagarh to Tissa when the accident took place near the Tarwai Bridge in the Churah area of Chamba district, they added.

A large boulder hit the vehicle from the top, due to which it got imbalanced and skidded into the river, the police said.

The deceased include six police personnel who were from the 2nd Indian Reserve Battalion posted at the Chamba Border. They have been identified as Rakesh Gora, Praveen Tondon, Kamaljeet, Sachin, Abhishek and Lakshay Kumar, while the seventh deceased is Chandru Ram, a local resident, they added.

Expressing grief over the incident, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu directed the district authorities to provide immediate ex-gratia to the next of kin of the deceased and the best treatment for the injured persons.

Meanwhile, BJP MLA from Churah, Hans Raj, said that they got this road closed with great effort as it was not safe to travel but the current government opened the road again despite being informed of the recurring landslides in this area.

Raj, who is also the party's state vice-president, demanded a high-level inquiry into the accident, according to a statement issued here.

He said that strict action should be taken against the PWD officer, whose negligence cost so many lives.

Since the onset of monsoon in the hill state on June 24 till August 10, the death toll due to rain-related incidents and road accidents has reached 234, of which 39 persons died in 83 landslides and 97 died in road accidents, according to the state emergency operation centre.

Meanwhile, the MeT office has sounded a yellow warning of heavy rains on August 12 and 13 and predicted a wet spell in the state till August 17 and cautioned of landslides, flash floods, mudslides and an increase in water flow in rivers and canals.

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