Uttarakhand: 29 pilgrims from Madhya Pradesh killed as bus falls into Bhagirathi river

In a tragic incident, as many as 29 pilgrims from Madhya Pradesh were killed when their bus fell into Bhagirathi river near Nalupani on Tuesday evening while returning from Gangotri shrine in the Himalayas.

The mishap occurred at around 6 pm as the bus fell 300 metres down the road into the river, Uttarkashi District Magistrate Ashish Shrivastava said.

Twenty bodies have so far been recovered from the spot and one of the seven injured died at the hospital, he said.

Rescue efforts by the SDRF, the ITBP and police personnel under the supervision of senior officials are continuing in darkness.

There were around 29 pilgrims, mostly from Indore, in the bus at the time of the accident, he said.

Latest visuals from Uttarakhand: Rescue ops by ITBP personnel near Dharasu, where bus carrying 29 pilgrims from MP, fell into a river. pic.twitter.com/fpvDv6Zch2

— ANI (@ANI_news) May 23, 2017

On Chardham yatra since May 12, these pilgrims had already visited Yamunotri and Gangotri and were on way to Haridwar from where they had to go to Kedarnath, he said.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased.

Meanwhile, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan expressed grief over the tragedy and issued instructions for immediate aid to the victims. 

#WATCH: Rescue ops by ITBP personnel near Uttarakhand's Dharasu, where bus carrying 29 pilgrims from MP, fell into river;22 bodies recovered pic.twitter.com/I54Ucd6op3

— ANI (@ANI_news) May 23, 2017