Imphal: Three people, including two senior Indian Information Service (IIS) officers from the Northeast, were killed and another person was seriously injured after a Bolero carrying four people plunged into a deep gorge near Sateek Pass in Mizoram on Thursday evening.
The deceased have been identified as Dr. Engam Pame, Additional Director General, Press Information Bureau (PIB), Regional Office Imphal; Nampibou Marinmai, Director (News), Doordarshan Kendra, Aizawl; and H. Lianvela of Chawlhmun, Mizoram.
According to local reports and information from people involved in the rescue operation, the accident occurred at around 6.10 pm on the road beyond Sateek Pass while the vehicle was travelling from the Aizawl side. The Bolero reportedly went off the road and plunged down an extremely steep and rugged slope.
The vehicle fell so far below the road that it could not initially be seen from the road surface.
The four occupants were reportedly travelling in connection with official duties, including a visit to Sialsuk. Local accounts said that three occupants died in the accident while one person survived and was conscious and able to communicate.
Difficult rescue operation
The depth and terrain of the gorge made the rescue operation particularly difficult.
Local volunteers, police personnel and NGOs began moving towards the crash site from different directions. According to information available from the site, the vehicle and victims were located deep inside the jungle, requiring rescuers to negotiate a steep and difficult slope.
Efforts were subsequently undertaken to bring the deceased and the injured person up towards the roadside so that they could be taken to hospital.
The precise circumstances leading to the vehicle leaving the road were not immediately available.
Engam Pame: senior IIS officer with a long career in Northeast
Dr Engam Pame was a senior Indian Information Service officer who had spent much of his career in government communication and public outreach in the Northeast.
At the time of his death, he was serving as Additional Director General, PIB, Regional Office Imphal. Government records and PIB releases from 2026 show him chairing the Inter Media Publicity Coordination Committee in Manipur and leading media-outreach programmes across the state.
Pame had earlier served as Regional Director/Director in the Directorate of Field Publicity and the Bureau of Outreach and Communication, including assignments covering Meghalaya, Nagaland and Manipur. A Ministry of Information and Broadcasting directory lists him as Director, Directorate of Field Publicity, Shillong and Kohima. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
A Meghalaya government publication from 2016 also identified him as Regional Director, Directorate of Field Publicity, Shillong.
His professional interests extended beyond government communication. A biographical profile published by the Luangdilat Commission records his qualifications and international exposure in government communications, public service broadcasting and media management, including training in Jakarta and the United Kingdom. It also records his involvement in karate and kickboxing and his participation in national-level veteran badminton.
Pame entered the Indian Information Service through the UPSC examination.
Nampibou Marinmai: He was also a senior Indian Information Service officer with a long association with government media organisations.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's 2026 IIS seniority document records Marinmai as a Promotee, with his regular appointment in the IIS cadre dated October 19, 2001.
Marinmai served in several important media positions during his career. In January 2018, a PIB communication identified him as PRO (Defence) with the Press Information Bureau's Defence Wing in New Delhi.
He subsequently held senior news and media responsibilities in the Doordarshan system. In 2023, he was identified as Joint Director (News), Regional News Unit, Doordarshan Kendra Aizawl.
In January 2024, an order concerning the promotion of Joint Directors to Director level identified him as Joint Director (News), DDK Guwahati, working at DDK Aizawl with additional charge of AIR Aizawl and IIMC Aizawl.
By 2024, the Mizoram Raj Bhavan identified him as Director (News), Doordarshan Kendra, Aizawl.
In June 2026, PIB identified him as Director, DD News Mizoram and Chairman of the Inter Media Publicity Coordination Committee, Mizoram, a position in which he coordinated government media organisations and departments in the state.
He was also associated with the Indian Institute of Mass Communication's Aizawl campus and was listed in an official IIMC document as OSD/IFA, IIMC Aizawl.
Two senior media officers on official assignment
The deaths bring a sudden end to the careers of two officers who had worked for decades within India's government information and broadcasting system.
Both were serving in senior positions in the Northeast's government-media network and had continued to be professionally active until shortly before the accident.
Pame had been working out of Imphal, while Marinmai was based in Aizawl. Their last months in service included programmes and engagements involving journalists, government departments and public communication initiatives.
The accident therefore not only represents a major loss to their respective families and communities but also to the government information and broadcasting establishment in the Northeast.
The third deceased, H. Lianvela of Chawlhmun, was the Mizo occupant identified in local accounts of the accident. One other person travelling in the vehicle survived and was reported to be conscious.
As of Thursday night, rescue personnel and local volunteers were continuing efforts to move the victims from the crash site through the difficult terrain.
Community service and social contributions
Beyond their government careers, Dr. Engam Pame was actively associated with community initiatives concerning the wider Luangdimai/Zeliangrong society. He was a member of the Luangdimai Citizens’ Forum (LCF) Elders’ Board, which was constituted to provide guidance on issues concerning the community, including cultural preservation, unity, research and social development of the Zeliangrong-Inpui community across Manipur, Nagaland and Assam.
Pame also contributed to initiatives involving language and cultural understanding. He was one of the contributors to Inter-Language Translation, a publication intended to facilitate communication across Zeliangrong linguistic communities.
Marinmai, too, maintained a strong connection with his community and its cultural concerns. A native of Chiang (Langmai) village in Tamei, Tamenglong district, he had served as General Secretary of the Liangmai Naga Katimai Ruangdi (LNKR-M) before rising to senior positions in the Government of India. The organisation described his career as a source of inspiration for the Zeliangrong (Liangmai) community.
NEWire has based the accident details on local reports and information from people at the site, while the career details have been cross-checked against government records. Official confirmation from Mizoram authorities on the nature of the accident should be incorporated as and when issued.
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