Gangtok/Kalimpong (PTI): Two persons died, and eight others were injured after their car skidded off the National Highway 10 and plunged nearly 500 feet into a gorge in West Bengal's Kalimpong district, police said on Saturday.

The accident occurred on Friday evening when the driver of the Siliguri-bound car lost control over the vehicle on a landslide-prone stretch near Birik Dara, and it fell into the gorge, a senior officer said.

The car was coming from Sikkim's Gangtok when the accident took place, he said.

Local residents, workers from National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) and a police team rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation, the officer said.

"Two persons died, and eight injured people were taken to the Rambi Hospital. Later

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