Bus carrying pilgrims overturns in UP, one dead

Pilibhit (UP), Oct 22 (PTI) A bus carrying pilgrims overturned into a ditch on the Bareilly–Haridwar highway early Wednesday, leaving a woman dead and over 20 injured, police said.

The bus carrying 54 residents of Bareilly was returning from a religious tour in Uttarakhand when the accident occurred around 3:20 am between Nisra and Sardar Nagar villages. Jehanabad Station House Officer (SHO) Pradeep Bishnoi told reporters that a 22-year-old woman identified as Durga died on the spot.

The injured were rushed to the Jehanabad Community Health Centre (CHC), from where eight critically injured passengers were referred to the district hospital.

Eyewitness Shekhar told police that the driver appeared to be under the influence of alcohol.

The bus had suffered three punctures during the journey, and while negotiating a turn at high speed, the driver lost control, causing the vehicle to plunge into a roadside ditch.

Locals and police teams launched a rescue operation and shifted the injured to nearby hospitals.

A case has been registered against the absconding driver, and an investigation is underway, officials added. PTI COR ABN ABN DV DV