Panchkula, Jan. 29 -- A late-night drive turned into a nightmare when a speeding Mahindra Thar veered off a sharp curve and plunged nearly 80 feet into a deep gorge near Mandhana village in Morni. The accident, which occurred around 3 am on Wednesday, claimed the life of a 20-year-old. The deceased, identified as Abhishek Khatri, was a resident of Sector 15, Panchkula. The group had set out for Morni between 10:30 pm and 11 pm on Tuesday. According to investigating officer (IO) Satyavir Singh Gill, the trip was initially planned by Vivek and Lalit, both gym trainers in Sector 14, who then invited Abhishek and Ayush, 20, to join them. A second car with four other friends accompanied them, but the two groups lost contact during the journey as the Thar was reportedly travelling at high speed. Despite searching for their friends in the darkness, the occupants of the second car were unable to locate the vehicle. The violent impact of the fall left all four occupants unconscious. Due to the early hour and the deserted nature of the stretch, the victims remained trapped without medical aid for five hours. It was only around 8 am that one of the survivors, 28-year-old Lalit, regained consciousness. He managed to scramble up to the road and flag down a Haryana Roadways bus. The bus driver immediately alerted the police. Local villagers soon gathered to assist in a lengthy and difficult rescue operation. All victims were eventually extracted and rushed to the hospital by ambulance. The deceased, Khatri, who helped his parents run a dhaba in Harmilap Nagar, Baltana, was pronounced dead on the spot. His body was handed over to his family on Wednesday following a postmortem at the Civil Hospital in Sector 6. Among the survivors, Vivek, 23, from Harmilap Nagar, Baltana, who was reportedly driving the vehicle, was referred to PGIMER in critical condition and remains unconscious. The other two survivors, 20-year-old Ayush Thakur, a Class 12 student from Dhakoli, and Lalit, a resident of Dera Bassi, have regained consciousness and provided statements to the police. Based on their accounts, the police have registered a daily diary report....