Shimla, June 19 -- Seven people, including six members of a family, were killed when their SUV skidded off a secluded link road and rolled into a gorge near Chhatrund on the Chamba-Masroond road in Himachal Pradesh late on Wednesday night. Police said the accident occurred around midnight as six victims, all residents of Mehal village under the Kuthed gram panchayat, were returningfrom a traditional mundan (tonsure) ceremony in Kakroda village. The stretch of road lacked protective crash barriers and the area is isolated, which is why the mangled Mahindra Bolero was discovered by locals only on Thursday morning. A 20-year-old relative of the victims who did not attend the function is the family's sole survivor. The deceased family members have been identified as brothers Chunni Lal, 65, Devi Lal, 62, and Moti Ram, 53; Moti Ram's wife Babli Devi, 45; Devi Lal's wife Kunta Devi, 53; and Anita Kumari, 20. The seventh victim was the driver, Manohar Lal, 34, a resident of Jhulara village. Chamba superintendent of police Vijay Kumar Saklani said that all seven occupants died on the spot. Local volunteers and police formed a human chain to retrieve the bodies from the difficult terrain. Preliminary investigations suggest the driver may have dozed off or swerved to avoid an animal, though the authorities found no signs of a collision at the scene. A case has been registered, and the bodies have been sent for autopsies, said police officials. Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed grief over the tragedy and directed the district administration to provide all possible assistance to the affected families....