How truck drivers navigate one of the most dangerous roads in the world

Insider

Truck drivers in India provide an essential service to villagers in the Himalayas when they transport food, water, and medicine to remote regions. But the crucial work comes at a deadly cost.

Transcript

00:01Killer road deep in the Himalayas is one of the most dangerous in the world.

00:08One reckless turn could send drivers hurtling down nearly 11,000 feet.

00:14If you are afraid of death,

00:17you should sit on your truck.

00:22Let's go, let's go, let's go.

00:27Because there is no time at any time at any time.

00:33Still, every summer, Ankur Rawat makes several trips,

00:38delivering basic supplies to remote villages along this perilous route.

00:45It connects the rest of India to the isolated region of Pangae Valley,

00:50which is cut off for nearly six months of the year

00:53because of heavy snow.

00:55This is the lifeline.

00:57If there is no food here,

00:59how can we survive?

01:01But sometimes trucks break down along the way,

01:04leaving drivers stranded for days.

01:07So what does it take to navigate these heavy-duty trucks

01:11on this deadly path?

01:14We rode along with Ankur through the mountains

01:16for three days to find out.

01:20Ankur lives in the village of Palhoon

01:24with his wife Sabitha and their children.

01:28He never really knows what the weather will be,

01:31so he packs plenty of blankets.

01:37They sit down for a family dinner

01:41before Ankur sets off.

01:43He first picks up the truck from a private parking lot

01:53that rents them out.

01:56This one has a power steering and a 5600cc engine,

02:00ideal for driving through the mountains.

02:02Ankur will make a few pit stops on this 107-mile journey.

02:04Ankur will make a few pit stops on this 107-mile journey.

02:06First, he'll travel about 10 miles from his home to a warehouse in Chamba

02:10to pick up food rations.

02:11Then, he'll pass through several small tables

02:12to pick up food rations.

02:13Ankur will make a few pit stops on this 107-mile journey.

02:16First, he'll travel about 10 miles from his home to a warehouse in Chamba to pick up food rations.

02:22Then, he'll pass through several small towns and go through Satchpas, the highest point on Killa Road,

02:29before reaching his destination, the district of Pangi Valley.

02:35Today, Ankur is the first place in Chamba.

02:37Ankur will make a few pit stops on this 107-mile journey.

02:40Ankur will make a few pit stops on this 107-mile journey.

02:43First, he'll travel about 10 miles from his home to a warehouse in Chamba to pick up food rations.

02:48Then, he'll pass through several small towns and go through Satchpas,

02:51Today, Ankur is loading 100-pound bags of wheat provided by the government to sustain India's most isolated regions.

03:01His truck can carry up to 12 tons.

03:04But any more than that, and it could topple over.

03:10He always stops at this local temple along the way.

03:14The truck can hold up to 250 liters of diesel.

03:32But there are hardly any gas stations along the route.

03:36The terrain starts off pretty smooth.

03:39But as the truck goes uphill, it gets rough.

03:42And his speed drops below 10 miles per hour.

03:45At this point, the road is only 10 feet wide.

03:46And there's barely room for two cars to drive next to each other.

03:48So, when in 90 minutes, Ankur is on the road.

03:49The train starts off pretty smooth.

03:54But as the truck goes uphill, it gets rough.

03:57And his speed drops below 10 miles per hour.

04:02So, when another vehicle approaches, Ankur needs to carefully reverse, sometimes by hundreds of yards.

04:21And the truck goes uphill for two hours, three hours.

04:23And the truck goes uphill.

04:24And the truck goes uphill.

04:25And the truck goes uphill.

04:26And the truck goes uphill.

04:27And the truck goes uphill.

04:30Luckily, he's travelling with truck conductor Mohamed Nisar Mughal,

04:35who jumps out and guides Ankur around blind spots and dangerous turns.

04:40We have to see that the car won't be touched on the top.

04:43Go, go, go, go.

04:45There are no guardrails to prevent them from veering off.

04:56In July 2022, a jeep rolled into a gorge, killing five people.

05:10And in 2023, seven people died after their vehicle was hit by a landslide on this route.

05:17It happens sometimes.

05:18We have to die.

05:19We have to die.

05:20People die.

05:21People die.

05:22So, I wonder if this is today or tomorrow.

05:26But after years of experience as a trucker, Ankur isn't easily intimidated.

05:32We are on the road.

05:33We are on the road.

05:34We are on the road.

05:35We are on the road.

05:36We are on the road.

05:37We are on the road.

05:38We are on the road.

05:39We are on the road.

05:40We are on the road.

05:41All the traditional rules of the road don't really apply.

05:45Truck drivers communicate with hand signals,

05:48which becomes important during moments of congestion like this.

05:52We have done this, and sometimes we bring this.

05:57This is an example.

05:58We are on the road.

05:59They also use pressure haunts,

06:02which are illegal in India.

06:06But Anku says they need them for safety reasons.

06:16Anku doesn't wear a seatbelt either,

06:19even though under Indian law he's required to.

06:22He says for this type of driving,

06:25they can do more harm than good,

06:27as they restrict the driver from leaning over.

06:32But stats on semi-truck accidents show

06:35that drivers are more likely to survive if they buckle up.

06:39In this state alone,

06:41trucks and buses accounted for 12% of all fatal crashes in 2022.

06:48Landslides and snowfall have also weakened this road structure,

06:52forming ditches and piles of debris.

06:56So the government hires contractors to keep preparing it.

07:02Killar Road started off as a footpath with narrow trails

07:05carved by shepherds and traders

07:07who were trying to reach the remote Pangae Valley.

07:12Legend has it that residents of Chamba fled to the hidden region

07:16to escape Mughal invaders.

07:19Others believe that in the 16th century,

07:22the king of Chamba banished criminals to this isolated region.

07:26These days, Killar Road is used mainly by tourists,

07:31bikers seeking an adrenaline rush,

07:34truckers and local residents.

07:38After about eight to nine hours of driving,

07:43the men pull over.

07:47They make a fire to start cooking

07:50with groceries they brought from home.

07:53But even during dinner,

07:54they stay vigilant

07:55in case they are confronted by wild animals or thieves.

07:59There are no hotels for miles,

08:15so they sleep in the truck's cabin.

08:17The next day, they start driving at the crack of dawn.

08:37Killar Road gets even more treacherous

08:40and spectacular

08:41as trucks pass through waterfalls.

08:44And incredibly tight spaces.

08:53Vehicles along this route

08:55often run into mechanical problems.

08:58This truck carrying grains to Pangae Valley

09:00broke down after the gearbox stopped working.

09:04The mechanic says

09:05the nearest store for car parts

09:07is about 180 miles away.

09:14The truck will just stay here until then.

09:33Anku and his team

09:34carry on with their journey.

09:37At around midday,

09:46they stop at a local dhaba for a quick bite.

09:54These cafes cater to truck drivers.

09:57The people who run them,

09:59like Lakshman Sharma,

10:00understand how hard it is to drive around here.

10:03But even these cafes close down

10:16once it starts snowing around October.

10:18While Anku's job is an essential service,

10:33he only makes about 10,000 rupees a month.

10:37That's about 4 US dollars a day.

10:39Enough to buy a few pounds of rice

10:41and lentils in India.

10:44He could make about 25,000 rupees a month

10:52as a personal driver in Delhi or Bombay.

10:55But his heart belongs here in the Himalayas.

10:58And he wants the whole world to know

11:00how beautiful these mountains are.

11:06So he vlogs in the side.

11:08He has about 50,000 followers

11:10and counting on YouTube.

11:12But the most treacherous part of this route

11:41is getting through Satch Pass.

11:44At nearly 14,500 feet,

11:48Satch Pass is one of the highest navigable places

11:50in the state of Himachal Pradesh.

11:53Drivers are advised not to stop at the top

11:55for more than five minutes

11:57because there's so little oxygen in the air.

12:00The road through here is even more narrow,

12:04barely more than eight feet wide.

12:06So Anku needs to be extremely mindful

12:11when navigating the steep slope.

12:13And Satch Pass has been pushed by the way in the air.

12:14But Satch Pass,

12:15the car has been pushed

12:16by the amount of time.

12:16The car has never stopped at the time.

12:18The car has never stopped at the time.

12:21And at Satch Pass,

12:21the car has never stopped at the track.

12:25We have never stopped at the track.

12:26It will not have stopped at the airport.

12:26It takes him about three to four hours to go through this nine-mile stretch.

12:46One, two, three.

13:05And the other, and the other, and the other.

13:11And the other, and the other.

13:15Come on, come on, come on, come on.

13:23After they're through, Ankur recaps the journey for his followers.

13:35Killar is among 106 villages in Pangi Valley,

13:40which has a total population of just 18,000 people.

13:43For a year or six months, this is disconnected.

13:46This is all over the last year.

13:50Almost 200 trucks head there every summer,

13:53carrying food, medicine, and other basic supplies.

13:58They're stored at this warehouse for the winter,

14:01and residents buy them at a subsidized rate set by the government.

14:10As soon as they're done unloading,

14:12Ankur and his colleagues hit the road.

14:19Along the way, they pass by a nomadic community called the Gujjars.

14:26For Ankur, catching up with them over a cup of tea has become a ritual.

14:31Even though driving through these mountains is a part of Ankur's identity,

14:39the job has worn him down.

14:46But he still yearns for the day he can truly enjoy the breathtaking nature around him.

15:09So, as long as I took a truck, I don't get the chance to see my family with him.

15:15I'll enjoy it again, just a little while waiting for him.

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