Raipur, July 11 : Five people were killed and four others seriously injured when a truck laden with borewell-digging equipment plunged into a 60-foot-deep gorge on Friday in Kawardha district, Chhattisgarh.

According to police, the accident occurred around 5 a.m. near Chata village of Gram Panchayat Agarpani, in the Kukdur police station area, when the truck lost control on a sharp turn. It was loaded with borewell mining materials and heading from Shahdol to Pandaria.

Due to the isolation of the road and lack of regular traffic, the wreckage remained undiscovered for hours. Only when villagers ventured toward the forest later in the morning did they come upon the fallen vehicle and alert the authorities.

Those who were killed have been identified as: Gajendra Ram (30), Subhash Ram (25), Harish (19), and Devdhar (45) from Jashpur, and Raj (50) from Tamil Nadu, police said.

The remaining four other occupants were also from Jashpur and Tamil Nadu. They sustained critical injuries and were first taken to Kukdur Community Health Centre before being referred to Kawardha, the police officials said.

The rescue operation faced delays due to large stones inside the gorge, and some of the bodies had stiffened by the time help arrived, indicating that the accident had occurred several hours earlier.

Once the debris was cleared, police found several labourers trapped beneath the truck. Some were still alive and shouting for help.

The four injured were promptly taken to Kukdur Community Health Centre and later referred to Kawardha for advanced treatment, the police officials said.

The condition of the bodies suggested the accident had happened much earlier and had gone unnoticed due to low traffic in the area. As rescue and recovery operations continue, the police have initiated an investigation into the causes behind the vehicle's loss of control, whether it was mechanical failure, driver fatigue, or road conditions.

/IANS