Toll rises to 26 as rescue ops in U’khand continue
DEHRADUN/MUSSOORIE: Bodies of 26 passengers, including 14 women were recovered by the rescuers in the search operation that continued till 2.30 am on Sunday night after a bus in which they were travelling from Madhya Pradesh to Yamunotri shrine fell into a 250-meterdeep gorge near Damta in Uttarkashi district on Sunday evening, said officials. The driver of the bus is among the four injured while his helper died in the accident.
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who visited the accident site on Monday morning along with the Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan said he has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident.
Dhami said that they also visited the four injured being treated at a hospital in Dehradun, where the driver told them that the accident happened due to a failure of the steering.
Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan after inspecting the accident spot said, “We were in constant touch with the Uttarakhand government as soon as we got information about the incident yesterday. The relief and rescue operations were started immediately by the district administration under the direction of the CM. Everyone acted as swiftly in the rescue operation. The post-mortem proceedings of the deceased were carried out expeditiously. The mortal remains of the passengers have been sent to Jolly Grant, Dehradun from where they will be airlifted to Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh) through an IAF helicopter in the evening. From there the bodies will be sent to their homes.”
Dhami said despite making arrangements for pilgrim registration to ensure the security of the pilgrims coming to Char Dham yatra, this incident happened which is very sad.
“Rapid rescue operation was carried out by district administration, SDRF, NDRF and local police and by 2.30 am all 26 bodies were recovered”, he said.
Giving details of how the rescue operation was carried out, District Disaster management officer Uttarkashi Devendra Patwal said that the rescue operation continued till 2.30am amid
challenging conditions.
“As it was steep slope and dark, the recovery of bodies took some time. 26 bodies were recovered. 25 bodies of MP based pilgrims were sent to Dehradun. Body of the bus helper who hailed from Almora has been kept at the local community health centre, where, later it was handed over to his family members”, he said.
Lalita Negi, spokesperson State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) said SDRF rescue teams, coordinating with the district police, fire service and local rescue units, continued the rescue operation in the dark and extreme conditions of the night.
The bus carrying thirty people including 28 pilgrims from Madhya Pradesh to Yamunotri shrine fell into a 250-metredeep gorge near Damta in Uttarkashi district on Sunday evening around 7 pm. The incident took place around 4 km away from Damta, along the Yamunotri National Highway, under the jurisdiction of Purola police station at around 7 pm. The bus was part of nearly 30 pilgrim buses from Madhya Pradesh’s Panna district which had come for the ongoing Char Dham Yatra.
The force of the fall was such that the bus broke into two parts and the bodies of the passengers were scattered over the steep slope, with some body parts hanging on tree branches and bushes.