At least 10 pilgrims from Amritsar died on Thursday morning, when an over packed private bus fell into a gorge near Dehra in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh.
Besides 10 deaths, around 51 people were injured in the accident. The death toll may rise as 38 seriously injured victims were shifted to Tanda Medical College by the evening. All the injured were earlier taken to Dehra Civil Hospital from where the victims with grievous injuries were shifted Tanda Medical College and 10 were relieved from the hospital after first aid.
There were around 80 passengers travelling in the private bus, which was owned by New Malwa Bus Service. The bus was bound for Jwalamukhi Shrine from Chintpurni Shrine, the other famous temple in Himachal Pradesh.
The accident took place near Dhaliara town at around 10 am on Thursday morning. The police reached the spot first and conducted the rescue operation with the help of local people.
The cause of accident is yet to be ascertained. The driver and conductor of the bus could not be identified by the evening. The bus would be inspected by experts on Friday to know the reason of the accident. The Deputy Commissioner, SDM and Superintendent of Police visited the spot and took stock of the rescue operation.
Malok Singh, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Dehra said the cause of the accident was yet to be ascertained as the bus driver and conductor were yet to be identified. All the pilgrims were from Amritsar.
He said all the dead bodies were kept in Dehra Civil Hospital, where three bodies were identified by the relatives of the victims by the evening. District Administration announced immediate help of Rs 25 thousand to the family of deceased and Rs 10 thousand to the seriously injured. Administration also gave an immediate help of Rs 2,000 to the minor injured.
The place where the accident took place is considered an accident prone spot, as 7 people had died near this spot in May 2016, when another bus had an accident. That time too, the victims were from Amritsar. Just a month back, 7 people got injured in a bus mishap in Dehra town.
Governor Acharya Devvrat and Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh have expressed deep grief over death of 10 pilgrims from Punjab. The Chief Minister directed the district administration to provide all possible assistance to the injured. The arrangements have been made by the administration to shift the dead bodies after identification.