Accident: Four people including the driver died on impact when the taxi they were travelling in went off the road and fell 300m at Semtokha on the night of February 12.

An 11-year-old girl, who was also traveling in the same taxi was injured and referred to the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral hospital. The driver was in his 40s, and the deceased passengers included a 54-year old woman, a 74-year old man and a monk of undetermined age.

According to police, the taxi was on its way to Thimphu from Wangdue. The victims’ relatives informed the police at around 10:30pm of the missing taxi.

A police team and relatives searched till 3am on February 13 on the Thimphu-Wangdue highway but were not successful. The police team resumed the search early next day and found the 11-year old girl injured around 3km from Semtokha. Her hand was found fractured, and she was immediately referred to the hospital for surgery.

Police sources said the taxi was located in a stream. A police rescue team rappelled down to the stream to retrieve the bodies.

Dawa Gyelmo, Wangdue