Driver dies as dumper falls into gorge in Pauri district

Dehradun: A dumper truck went out of control and plunged into a deep gorge on Arms Road in Kotdwar, Pauri Garhwal district, on Sunday, killing the driver on the spot, officials said. An SDRF team was mobilised after police at the Dugadda outpost reported the accident.Officials said the vehicle veered off the hillside road and plunged nearly 100 metres into the valley. The dumper had only one occupant, 36-year-old Dhirendra Rawat, a local resident who died instantly from the impact. His body was handed over to the district police for necessary formalities, including the postmortem, and his family has been informed.On receiving the alert, an SDRF team from Kotdwar, led by sub-inspector Shekhar Chandra Joshi, rushed to the spot. With the terrain steep and difficult, personnel had to climb down into the gorge to the mangled vehicle. Using ropes and a stretcher, the team retrieved the body from the ravine. Police are investigating the cause of the crash, though preliminary findings suggest the driver may have lost control while negotiating a curve on the narrow hillside road.