Aizawl, Jan 16: At least three people, including two sitting members of the Chakma Autonomous District Council (CADC) in Mizoram, were killed when the car they were travelling in fell into a gorge on the outskirts of Aizawl early on Monday, police said.
Another council member was among the other two persons injured in the accident.
The accident took place between 3 am and 4 am when the vehicle occupants were heading towards the state capital apparently to meet the chief minister. They were coming from Chawngte, the headquarters of the Chakma council in Lawngtlai district, according to a police statement said.
The cause of the accident is believed to be the driver dozing off, it said.
Five people were on board the vehicle when the accident took place in Melthum area. The car fell into the 60-metre-deep gorge and caught fire, it said.
Three people died on the spot and the two other injured persons were taken to a nearby hospital, the statement said.
The deceased have been identified as Charan Singh Chakma (38) and Mohesh Boran Chakma (40), both Members of District Council (MDCs), and Banosandro Tongchangya (46), who was a village council member from Boroituli.
Another MDC, Lakhan Chakma (39), and village council member Dilip Kumar Chakma (45) were among those injured.
Kalendra Tongchangya, Liaison Officer of Chakma House in Aizawl, told PTI that the injured people were released from the hospital after being administered first aid.
He said Charan Singh Chakma was driving the vehicle, and the five occupants had set out for Aizawl on Sunday evening.
The three deceased will be brought to Chakma House in Aizawl after post-mortem examination and would be sent to their native villages on Monday, Tongchangya added.