48 dead, 12 injured while the bus falls in the gorge at Pauri dist | Dehradun News

Dehradun: In one of the worst road accidents in Uttarakhand in the recent past, 48 people were killed and 12 injured on Sunday after a heavily overloaded bus fell into a 100m deep gorge in the district of Pauri. makes a gap to avoid a huge pothole. Three of the wounded are in critical condition and have been flown to AIIMS Rishikesh for treatment.

The private 28-seater bus carried 60 people, all residents of the Pauri and Nainital districts from Bamisain (Pauri) to Ramnagar (Nainital) when it plunged into the Dhumakot tehsil gorge at 8:15. The dead include 16 women and 10 children. An ex-member of the Army who owned the bus and was driving it at the time of the accident also died.

Deepam Seth, Inspector General of Police (Law and Order), said: "The accident occurred near the village of Gween, 10 km from the town of Dhumakot, on the way We have recovered 48 bodies while 12 people have been injured and the police and the National Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are conducting rescue and rescue operations. "

The officer told TOI that 45 pbadengers died at the scene while three others died of injuries while being treated at the Dhumakot Primary Health Care Center (PHC). The wounded were admitted to Susheela Tiwari hospital in Haldwani, while three critically injured were flown from Ramnagar to AIIMS Rishikesh.

IG (SDRF) Sanjay Gunjyal said that bad weather has hindered rescue operations. The teams had trouble transporting the wounded because the rescue helicopter could not land at Dhumakot due to inclement weather and landed in Ramnagar. Another SDRF team led by Deputy Inspector General of Police (Garhwal), Pushpak Jyoti, also left for Dhumakot in a helicopter from the Sahastradhara Heliport to Dehradun. The helicopter could not land near the place of the accident because of bad weather and then landed at Ramnagar.

According to the wounded, the driver was trying to avoid a pothole on the road when he lost control of the vehicle, said ADG (Public Order) Ashok Kumar.

"The pothole, which covered half of the road, is the main cause of the accident.In addition, the driver could not control the vehicle as it was overloaded," Kumar said. .

The bus was part of the Garhwal Vehicle Drivers Union (GMOU), which operates buses in remote areas in the hills where the public transportation system is weak.

Meanwhile, the CM announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for relatives of those who died in the accident and Rs 50,000 each for the wounded. He also ordered a thorough investigation into the incident. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also offered his condolences. He tweeted: "Extremely saddened by the bus accident at Pauri Garhwal in Uttarakhand, My deepest sympathy to the bereaved families, I pray that the wounded will recover as soon as possible. authorities provide all possible badistance at the accident site. "