Two men were crushed to death when boulders fell on their truck in Pithoragarh district on Monday evening, officials said.
Driver Naveen Kumar (25) and cleaner Suraj Kumar (20), who were killed, hailed from Champawat district. district officials said.
Tushar Saini, sub-divisional magistrate Pithoragarh said the incident occurred near Gurna temple on Pithoragarh-Tanakpur road, on which road widening work is going on. The truck was going from Pithoragarh to Tanakpur, he said.
Saini said after they were informed about the incident, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team was called for search and rescue operations.
With much difficulty the SDRF team managed to take out the bodies from the debris, he said. The bodies were then handed over to the local police.
Saini said though the road widening work remains closed between 8 am to 3.30 pm on a daily basis, the danger of boulder fall or shooting stones still remains. “We have been cautioning vehicle operators on this road stretch about the possibility of boulder fall,” he said.
