At least 10 people were killed and several others injured in a major road mishap in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh late Tuesday night, a senior police official said Wednesday.

"The mishap happened when the vehicle in which the victims were travelling plunged into a deep gorge after the driver lost its control in the state's Hamirpur district. Most of the victims were migrant laborers returning from a road construction site," the official said, on condition of anonymity.

While 10 bodies have been pulled out of the gorge with help from locals, the injured were admitted to a nearby hospital where the condition of some are said to be serious, he said.

A probe has been ordered into the incident, the official added.

India has one of the highest road accident rates in the world, with over 100,000 people killed every year.