West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday expressed anguish over the death of five trekkers from the state in a road accident in Uttarakhand, and said her government has mobilised officers to preserve the bodies and bring back the mortal remains.

Six people were killed on Wednesday when the SUV they were travelling in fell into a gorge in Tehri district and caught fire. “Distressed to know of the death of 5 Bengal tourists in road accident ?near Tehri on their way to Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand),” Banerjee tweeted.

“Mobilised our officers here and at Delhi since last night to preserve the bodies at AIIMS Hrishikesh, fly relatives from here to Delhi and to transport them from there to Hrishikesh , to help bringing back the mortal remains here, to provide all retrieval assistance,” she said.

The incident happened near Kotigad on the Rishikesh-Gangotri highway when the SUV, carrying the team of trekkers from Haridwar to Kedartal-Gangotri, fell into the gorge, District Magistrate Iva Ashish Shrivastava said.

The vehicle fell into a 50-metre-deep gorge and burst into flames in which all the six occupants of the vehicle, including the driver, were charred to death. A magisterial probe has been ordered into the mishap to ascertain the cause of mishap. “Sincere condolences and full solidarity to the families,” Banerjee added.

(With PTI inputs)