Bus carrying Char Dham pilgrims falls into river in Uttarakhand, 2 dead and 10 missing

At least two pilgrims died and ten others were missing after a bus fell into the Alaknanda river in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district. The incident occurred as the bus was heading towards Badrinath Dham, a Char Dham pilgrimage site. The vehicle lost control while moving uphill from Rudraprayag towards Badrinath, leading to the accident.

Some passengers were thrown out of the bus before it sank into the river. Local residents and rescue teams helped in rescuing the survivors. The injured were taken to the district hospital in Rudraprayag. The bus, carrying 20 people including the driver, belonged to a family from Udaipur, Rajasthan, and Gujarat who were on a pilgrimage.

The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) launched a rescue operation upon receiving the news of the accident. They have rescued some individuals, but ten are still missing. Efforts are ongoing to locate them. The challenging conditions, including the rapid flow of the river, have made the rescue operation difficult.

In a separate incident on June 15, seven people lost their lives in a helicopter crash near Kedarnath due to bad weather. The helicopter was carrying pilgrims from Kedarnath for the Char Dham yatra. The monsoon has led to the suspension of helicopter services in the region, with landslides and shooting stones reported in high-altitude areas.

According to the source: The Indian Express.