21 killed as bus falls into river in Uttarakhand

At least 21 pilgrims from Madhya Pradesh were killed when a bus fell into the Bhagirathi near Nalupani on Tuesday while returning from the Gangotri shrine in the Himalayas. “The mishap occurred around 6 pm. Twenty bodies have so far been recovered from the spot and one of the seven injured died at the hospital,” said Uttarkashi District Magistrate Ashish Shrivastava. Rescue efforts by the SDRF, the ITBP and police personnel under the supervision of senior officials are continuing in darkness. Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced an ex gratia of Rs2 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased. PTI