Tree stops bus from skidding off hill road in Uttarakhand, 22 lives saved

Six people were critically injured when a bus carrying 22 pilgrims from Rajasthan collided with a truck coming from opposite direction near the ITBP campus at Gauchar in Chamoli district on Saturday.

After the collision, the bus hit a roadside tree that prevented it from falling into a deep gorge, saving lives of the passengers, some of whom sustained minor injuries.

“The bus was hit by a truck coming from the opposite direction. As it skidded towards a gorge about 90-ft deep, it got entangled in a roadside tree which brought it to a halt serving as a safety wall,” an official of the ITBP said.

The critically injured people were referred to a medical college in Srinagar from Rudraprayag, a police officer said.

The bus carrying pilgrims from Rajasthan’s Dungarpur and Udaipur was going to Badrinath from Rishikesh.

Police and ITBP immediately took up the rescue operation and all the injured were given treatment in an ITBP hospital at Gauchar, said Gopal Ram Binwal, sub divisional magistrate of Karanprayag.