3 killed, 9 missing as bus carrying pilgrims falls into Alaknanda

At least three people were killed, eight injured and nine others reported missing on Thursday when a 31-seater bus carrying pilgrims from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra to Badrinath fell into the Alaknanda river, the police said.

The vehicle met with an accident near Gholtir village on the Badrinath national highway between Rudraprayag and Gauchar.

Relief and rescue efforts, hampered by strong currents, were underway with the help of locals, the police said.

Three bodies had been recovered so far, Rudraprayag District Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar said. The third victim has been identified as Gauri Soni (41) from Rajgarh in Madhya Pradesh, he said.

Two bodies were recovered earlier, one near the accident site and the other from the river near Rudraprayag, Satyendra Singh Bhandari, a member of the Red Cross Society rescue team said. They were identified as Vishal Soni (42) from Rajgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Drimmy (17), a resident of Surat in Gujarat.

The accident occurred at around 7:30 am as the bus fell into the river several hundred feet down the road with a loud bang, Bhandari, who lives close to the accident site, said. Whoever heard the sound rushed towards the scene of the accident, he said.

The injured driver of the vehicle, who hails from Kankhal in Haridwar, claimed the bus fell into the river after being hit by a truck coming from the opposite direction. “I was driving at a speed of hardly around 10-20 kmph. We were listening to bhajans when a truck hit the bus and it plunged into the gorge,” the driver named Sumit said.

He is among the four injured airlifted to AIIMS, Rishikesh. Eight people, including four women and two children, were injured in the accident while nine others went missing, the SP office said, adding that the injured were rushed to the district hospital from where some of them were airlifted to AIIMS, Rishikesh in a helicopter.

Those airlifted to AIIMS are Deepika Soni, Hemlata Soni, Ishwar Soni and the driver Sumit. There were 20 people, including the driver, on board the vehicle when it fell into the river, police said.