Major mishap in Uttarakhand, at least 22 dead as bus carrying pilgrims falls into Bhagirathi river; CM announces ex-gratia

Pic courtsey: ANI

Uttarkashi: In a tragic incident, at least 22 persons lost their lives whereas almost eight others received injuries after a bus ferrying pilgrims plunged into the Bhagirathi river near Nalupani here on Tuesday evening.

The accident took place around 6:00 pm today when the bus was carrying passengers from the Himalayan shrine of Gangotri to Haridwar.

So far, at least 22 bodies have been recovered and seven injured have been rescued from the mangled remains of the bus which fell 300 metres down the road into the river, Uttarkashi DM Ashish Shrivastava said.

The casualties are likely to rise as there were around 29 passengers, mostly from Indore, in the bus and many of them are still trapped inside the wreckage, he said.

Rescue operations are being carried out with the help of ITBP, SDRF and police force with much difficulty due to the dark, Shrivastava said.

The injured have been admitted to the district hospitals Uttarkashi and Chinyalisaur.

The bus was carrying 'Chardham' pilgrims from Gangotri to Haridwar from where they had to go to Kedarnath.