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22 die after bus falls into gorge in Uttarakhand; PM announces aid
At least four people were severely injured and rushed to a hospital. Rescue operations are underway.
As many as 22 people died on Sunday after a bus carrying nearly 30 passengers fell into a gorge in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. The bus was coming from Panna district in Madhya Pradesh. At least four people were severely injured and rushed to a hospital. Search and rescue operations are underway for the remaining passengers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh each for the families of the deceased, and ₹50,000 for the injured.
Union minister Amit Shah expressed his grief at the accident and said he had spoken to chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami about the accident.
“It is very sad to hear about the bus of devotees falling into the gorge in Uttarakhand. I have spoken to the Chief Minister @pushkardhami ji on this. Local administration and SDRF teams are engaged in rescue work and the injured are being taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. NDRF is also reaching there soon,” he said in a tweet in Hindi.
Dhami is currently at the Disaster Control Room in Dehradun and is monitoring the situation from there. According to the chief minister's office, Dhami has directed the district administration to carry out relief and rescue work, apart from providing proper treatment to the injured.
Tirath Pal Singh, additional district magistrate of Uttarkashi, said two of the four injured were taken to Dehradun for treatment and the other two to Badkot.
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed his condolence over the deaths. He said he was keeping in touch with Dhami and requested him to ensure proper treatment of those injured.
“I have spoken with Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami pertaining to the safe rescue of the injured along with their adequate treatment. We are in constant touch with Uttarakhand CM,” he wrote on Twitter.
“…May God grant peace to the departed souls and give strength to the bereaved family members to bear the loss,” he added.
(With inputs from bureau)
