MIGGING, 10 Jun: Three people died and two others suffered grievous injuries when their vehicle plunged about 200 metre down a steep slope on the Migging-Tuting road in Upper Siang district on Tuesday morning.

The incident was reportedly triggered by a landslide near Migging.

The bodies of the three deceased were retrieved after nine hours of joint rescue operation conducted by local administration, Indian Army, and ITBP.

The deceased have been identified as Ottu Nitik, his wife Bami Nitik, and Olek Tali.

The injured persons were Jesek Jongkey and Ponung Nitik. They could not be evacuated to District Hospital Yingkiong for medical treatment due to the road blockade.

The district administration, in coordination with the Indian Army, ITBP, and other agencies, is closely monitoring the situation and extending all possible assistance to the affected families.

Tuting ADC Pandov Perme said rescue operations ended and the bodies were handed over to their families for last rites.

District disaster management officer Anie Yangfo said that ex-gratia assistance of Rs. 4 lakh each will be provided to the next of kin of the deceased in accordance with applicable State Disaster Response Fund norms after the completion of official verification. Financial assistance for treating the injured persons will also be provided as per admissible norms, the DDMO said.