Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand): A total of twenty-five pilgrims from Madhya Pradesh died and three were critically injured on the evening of Sunday. The bus in which they were traveling in fell into a deep gorge on the way to the Yamunotri temple in Uttarkashi district.
The accident took place near Rikhavu khadd on the way to the Himalayan shrine around two kilometers from Damta on National Highway 94, said Uttarkashi District Disaster Management Officer Devendra Patwal.
The pilgrims were from the Panna district in Madhya Pradesh, Additional Chief Secretary Radha Raturi said. Besides the driver and the helper, there were 28 passengers on the bus.
Seventeen bodies have been recovered so far, and a search is on for the rest, Patwal said. The picturesque Uttarakhand has some of the holiest Hindu sites and receives millions of pilgrims each year, but has a poorly maintained and notoriously dangerous network of Himalayan roads.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a compensation of 200,000 Indian rupees each from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for the families of those killed in the accident. The injured will receive 50,000 rupees each.
India’s home minister Amit Shah said he was in touch with the local authorities about the ongoing relief work for the “very sad” incident. Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the state administration and rescue teams are on the scene.
Dhami’s Madhya Pradesh counterpart Shivraj Singh Chouhan called the incident “unfortunate” and said he is in constant touch with the Uttarakhand government and district administration.
