47 dead as passenger bus falls into gorge in Uttarakhand; CM announces Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia

LUCKNOW: Forty-Seven people were killed and nearly a dozen injured when a private bus fell into a 60-metre gorge in Uttarakhand’s Pauri Garhwal district, 156 km from Dehradun, on Sunday morning. 

According to the police, the overloaded 28-seat bus carrying 58 passengers was on its way to Ramnagar in Nainital district. As the bus reached near Gween village on Pipli-Bhaun Motor Road, the driver lost control and the vehicle plunged into the deep gorge.

Eleven injured passengers were immediately rushed to district hospitals at Ramnagar and Haldwani in Kumaon division, and four of them were stated to be very critical. Rescue personnel and locals extricated and lifted the bodies at the accident spot. A helicopter was pressed into action to airlift the injured passengers to Dehradun, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) Inspector General Sanjay Gunjial said.  
While State Disaster Response Force and Pauri police were carrying out the rescue and relief operation, reinforcement was rushed from state capital Dehradun to the accident site. 

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat announced Rs 2 lakh each to kin of victims who lost their lives in the accident and Rs 50,000 each to the injured people. Governor KK Paul directed the authorities to extend all help to the families of the victims.   

President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Suresh Prabhu, and BJP chief Amit Shah were among the dignitaries who expressed shock over the accident. “Very sad to learn about the tragic bus accident in Pauri Garhwal. Rescue efforts are on and local authorities are doing their utmost to help. My condolences to the bereaved facilities and best wishes to those injured,” Kovind’s office tweeted.