Nainital, May 21 -- Five people died after a car plunged into a deep gorge near the Bhawali Bypass area of Nainital on Thursday, officials said.

DSP and CO Ravikant Semwal said police received information from the control room about the accident and rushed to the spot with the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).

While speaking to ANI, Semwal said, "Upon receiving this information, the police and the SDRF team launched a rescue operation. They found a vehicle that had fallen about 300 to 400 meters deep into a ditch."

The driver was from Lucknow, while the four passengers were from Khatima, he said.

"The vehicle and its driver are from Lucknow, but the passengers on board were from Khatima. When they were successfully rescued and rus...