Shimla, Jun 26 (IANS): Seven pilgrims, including six of a family, were killed when a private vehicle skidded off the road and fell into a gorge here in Himachal Pradesh early on Monday, the police said.

The vehicle carrying 12 persons fell more than 200 metres below after skidding off the road. The five survivors sustained injuries and were admitted to the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital here.

The pilgrims were returning from a temple in Churdhar. They were on their way to their village in Sirmaur district when the accident occurred near Gumma, some 190 km from here. It is one of the remotest places in the state.

What caused the the vehicle to skid has not been ascertained. Most of the victims were related to one another, the police said.

In April, 45 people were killed in a major accident in the same area, when a private bus fell into a river.

Two people, including the conductor, managed to escape by jumping off the bus belonging to an Uttarakhand operator as it skidded off the road and fell into the Tons river, a tributary of the Yamuna.