Two women pilgrims killed as bus falls into gorge in U'khand

Two women were killed and 33 others injured today when a bus carrying pilgrims from Maharashtra fell into a gorge in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district.

Three pilgrims who had sustained serious injuries in the mishap were being sent to Dehradun by a chopper for better treatment, Chamoli SP Tripti Bhatt said.

The accident occurred around 3 pm on Badrinath highway near Umadevi Lounge in Karnaprayag, she said. The private bus was carrying pilgrims from Maharashtra's Aurangabad after they had paid obeisance at the Badrinath temple.

The mishap could have been major and the casualty figure higher if the bus luckily had not got stuck in the middle of the gorge. At the end of the ravine flows the Alaknanda river which is currently in spate, the SP said.
 

Police rushed to the spot immediately after being informed about the mishap, recovered the bodies and rescued the injured with the help of locals, she said.

All the injured were admitted in the Karnaprayag government hospital from where three seriously injured were referred to a higher centre in Dehradun, she said.