Two persons were killed after a massive boulder crashed onto a Bolero pick-up (ML05 AD 5514) along the Shillong–Pynursla–Dawki road at Mawlieh, near Lyngkyrdem village, on Monday evening.
The incident occurred at around 5 pm while the vehicle was descending towards Pynursla. One of the deceased has been identified as Teibor Khongthohrem of Rimassar, while the other victim is reportedly from Pongtung in the Pynursla area.
Clearance operations at the site took several hours on Monday night, hampered by persistent rainfall.
The stretch has been under risk due to ongoing road-widening work. Authorities had earlier carried out controlled blasting to dislodge precariously hanging boulders that posed a threat to commuters.
The two-laning project on the Shillong–Pynursla–Dawki route is currently underway, with the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) of Pynursla regulating traffic movement daily from 7:00 am to 10:30 am and 3:30 pm to 9:30 pm to facilitate uninterrupted work and reduce risks.