Uttarakhand: Five killed as bus falls into gorge in Tehri

New Tehri, Nov 24 (PTI) Five pilgrims were killed and 13 others injured when a bus fell into a ravine near the Kunjapuri temple here on Monday, officials said.

Tehri District Magistrate Nitika Khandelwal stated that a group of pilgrims from various states had arrived from Dayanand Ashram in Rishikesh to visit Kunjapuri temple.

She said that after returning from the pilgrimage, the driver started the bus, but the brakes failed, causing it to plunge into the ravine.

However, Tehri Senior Superintendent of Police Ayush Aggarwal said that an investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of the accident.

Upon receiving information about the incident, police and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams rushed to the scene and began rescue and relief operations. Senior administrative and police officials also arrived and monitored the operation.

Officials said five pilgrims died on the spot and 13 were injured when the bus fell 70 meters below the road into the ravine. Six of the injured were admitted to the Sridev Suman District Sub-Hospital in Narendranagar, from where they were referred to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh due to their critical condition.

There were 28 people on board the bus at the time of the accident. Other passengers sustained minor injuries. The driver of the vehicle also suffered minor injuries and is said to be in stable condition.

The deceased have been identified as Anita Chauhan (50) from Dwarka, Delhi; Ashu Tyagi (51) from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh; Namita Prabodh Kale (58) from Nagpur, Maharashtra; Anuja Venkatraman (48) from Bengaluru; and Parthasarathi Joshi (70) from Vadodara, Gujarat.

Meanwhile, Rishikesh AIIMS Public Relations Officer Sandeep Kumar said that six people injured in the accident have been admitted to the trauma department. PTI DPT HIG