Rudrapur, Nov. 3 -- Two people died and 15 others sustained injuries after a tempo traveller carrying 17 devotees fell into a 15-metre-deep gorge near Jeolikot in Nainital district on Saturday night, a police officer familiar with the matter said on Sunday, adding that the passengers were returning from Kainchi Dham. According to police, the incident occurred when the vehicle, which was heading towards Haldwani after a day trip to Kainchi Dham, slipped off the Nainital-Haldwani highway at Matiyali bend and plunged into the gorge. Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manjunath TC said, "We received information about the accident around 10.50 pm. Police and SDRF teams rushed to the site and launched a rescue operation. Two people were found dead at the spot, and 15 injured passengers were rescued and taken to hospitals in Haldwani." The deceased were identified as Sonu Kumar (32), a resident of Rohtak in Haryana, who was driving the vehicle, and Gaurav Bansal (26), a tourist from Delhi. Their bodies were taken to the Soban Singh Jeena Base Hospital (STH) in Haldwani, where doctors declared them dead. "The tempo traveller was returning from Kainchi Dham after evening prayers when the driver apparently lost control on a sharp turn near Jeolikot," said an officer. The injured were taken to STH and two private hospitals in Haldwani. Police confirmed that five of the injured were admitted to private facilities, while the rest were being treated at the government hospital. Teams of the state disaster response force (SDRF), local police, and volunteers carried out the rescue operation late into the night under challenging conditions. Police said the area has been marked as an accident-prone zone....