Uttarakhand: 2 killed, sixteen injured as tempo traveller falls into ravine in Nainital

Nainital, Nov 2 (PTI) Two people died while 16 others were injured after a tempo traveller carrying pilgrims veered off the road and fell into a ravine, police said on Sunday.

The accident occurred on Saturday night in the Jyolikot area when the vehicle, carrying 18 pilgrims from Delhi, was returning from Kainchi Dham, they said.

According to police, the tempo traveller was near Dogaon when the driver lost control of the vehicle, tumbled off a cliff and got stuck in a tree 12 meters below. However, the tree gave way and the vehicle fell into the ravine.

Hearing the passengers' cries, people informed the police, who reached the spot along with State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams and began rescue and relief operations. The injured were taken to the Sushila Tiwari Hospital in Haldwani.

Police said Sonu Kumar (32), a resident of Rohtak, Haryana and Gaurav Bansal from Badarpur died in the accident.

Some of the injured were taken to the hospital in critical condition, including a one-year-old child.

The group of devotees had come from Delhi's Badarpur border to Baba Neem Karoli's ashram, Kainchi Dham.

Jyolikot police post in-charge Shyam Singh Bora said that the accident was so horrific that the driver's head was severed from his body. PTI DPT OZ OZ