Several injured as tourist vehicle plunges into river in northern India
by ShravyaA severe accident occurred on a highway in northern India’s Uttarakhand, when a tempo traveller lost control and fell into the Alaknanda River.
The incident took place on Badrinath Highway on June 15.
Visuals showed the damaged vehicle near the river bank and people being rescued by the rescue teams.
According to reports, the tragic incident has resulted in the deaths of eight people, with about seven others injured.
In view of the seriousness of the said incident, as per the instructions of Shri Manikant Mishra, Commander SDRF, 02 teams of 14 members of SDRF from Post Ratura and Agastyamuni immediately left for the spot with rescue equipment.
The said vehicle carrying 26 passengers, who had come here on the Chopta-Tungnath-Chandrashila trip, went out of control and crashed into a ditch about 500 meters below the main road.
Under the leadership of SI Bhagat Singh Kandari and SI Dharmendra Panwar, SDRF teams reached the spot and worked hard in extremely adverse conditions, along with the local police and people, and conducted a joint rescue operation during which 14 injured were rescued and taken to the district hospital by ambulance. They were sent to Rudraprayag from where 07 seriously injured were airlifted to Higher Center AIIMS Rishikesh. 10 people died on the spot, whose bodies were taken to the main road and handed over to the district police, while 2 people died in the hospital during treatment.
During the above rescue work, a woman was thrown from the vehicle and got stuck in the bushes about 80 meters below. While coming down, the SDRF team searched and rescued him, brought him to the road head and sent him to the hospital. A team of SDRF was present at AIIMS, Rishikesh under the leadership of Inspector Kavindra Sajwan, through which the injured who were to be airlifted were taken down from the heli and taken to the hospital.
The accident happened near Raitoli, approximately five kilometers from Rudraprayag city. Rescue operations are ongoing, involving local authorities, district police, SDRF, fire services, and district disaster management teams.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed his condolences via social media, noting the efforts of the local administration and SDRF in the rescue operations. He has also ordered an investigation into the accident and extended prayers for the victims and their families.
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