At least seven people were killed and 27 others injured when a bus carrying 35 pilgrims from Bhavnagar plunged into a canyon in Uttarkashi. The bus was returning from Gangotri to Uttarkashi when the accident occurred at Gangnani.
Chief minister Bhupendra Patel condoled the death of seven pilgrims and wished for the speedy recovery of the injured. The CM said on a microblogging site X, “I am saddened by the tragic accident in which pilgrims from Gujarat lost their lives after their bus fell into a gorge in Uttarakhand. My heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased.”
He added, “The Gujarat government is in constant touch with the Uttarakhand government to get details of the accident. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured citizens.” A statement issued by state relief commissioner Alok Pandey said that the state government is in constant touch with the relief commissioner of Uttarakhand.
An official statement quoted by the relief commissioner, said, “Uttarakhand SDRF teams are making arrangements to shift the injured persons to Rishikesh.” He added that about 33 pilgrims from Bhavnagar had reached Uttarakhand in a private bus from where they had hired another private bus for the onward journey.
One of the survivors, Ketan Rajyaguru (59), spoke to the media from hospital. He said, “The accident occurred when we were returning from Gangotri to Uttarkashi. All of a sudden, the bus started rolling down the gorge around 4 pm. I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I was in a hospital.” Rajyaguru received several stitches. “Our bus had rolled down 50 meters into the gorge,” he added.