At least twenty-five people have died after a bus – with more than 40 on board – fell into a gorge in Uttarakhand. Over 40 people including children were reported to be in the bus that fell into a 500-metre ravine on the Rikhnikhal-Birokhal road in Pauri Garhwal district on Tuesday. Twenty people have been rescued so far and the operation is still ongoing, state police said. “According to the information received so far, 25 people have died in this accident. 20 people have been rescued and sent to hospital, some of whom are seriously injured,” Uttarakhand police said on Twitter.
DGP Ashok Kumar also confirmed that “25 people found dead in Pauri Garwhal bus accident that occurred last night in Birokhal area of Dhumakot.” Four teams of SDRF (State Disaster Response Force) have been trained to be at the accident site for coordination rescue operations.
The wedding procession left the Lal Dhang area of Haridwar in a bus that was hit by the tragedy, quoted Haridwar SP as saying. “We are getting information from the family members. The Pauri police and SDRF are still carrying out the rescue operation at the spot,” said Swatantra Kumar Singh.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has asked the State Disaster Management Center to continuously monitor the situation. “Teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been mobilized to the site of the accident. We are trying to get all equipment to the scene of the accident. Local villagers are assisting in the rescue operation,” he said in a late night statement. The incident occurred on a day when an avalanche overwhelmed a group of training climbers. At least four deaths have been reported so far.
Read Now :DDMA is set to withdraw the ₹500 fine for not wearing masks in public places
