3 pilgrims airlifted to Rishikesh AIIMS, search continues as Tempo falls into river

Dehradun: The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and state police rescue teams are diligently trying to lift the victims from the accident site as part of the ongoing relief and rescue operations in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand.

Till the last reports came in, two people had died in the accident while less than a dozen were still missing, with fears looming large that they could have been washed away by the flow of the fast-moving river.

Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand government has said that it is closely monitoring the relief and rescue operations on the spot.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami took to X to inform that the relief and rescue efforts were being carried out on a war footing and said that three people have been airlifted to AIIMS, Rishikesh for treatment.

“SDRF and police teams are actively engaged in relief and rescue operations to search for the missing passengers. The administration is monitoring the situation with utmost sensitivity and promptness,” he said.

The tragic accident took place in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag on Thursday morning, as a 31-seater Tempo Traveller plunged into the Alaknanda River.

The bus was carrying 20 Char Dham-bound pilgrims. At least two people are said to have been killed while ten others had initially gone missing after the Tempo Traveller careened off the road, this morning.

The bus skidded off the road as the driver lost control, leading to it plunging into the Alaknanda River below.

Local residents were the first to swing into action and they pulled out the injured people from the accident zone. According to eyewitnesses, several people jumped off the bus while it rolled down the hill, before plunging into the river.

Uttarakhand Police has also shared pictures of pilgrims being taken out of the accident zone by rescue teams as well as local residents and informed that the 31-seater bus was carrying 20 passengers from the two states of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

In the pictures, people could be seen making ‘human chains’ to help injured passengers climb up the steep hills.

Currently, top officials of Uttarakhand Police and disaster response teams are supervising the rescue operation on the spot.

With inputs from IANS