3 killed, nine missing after bus carrying pilgrims falls into Alaknanda river in Uttarakhand

At least three people were killed, eight injured and nine others reported missing on Thursday when a 31-seater bus carrying pilgrims from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra to Badrinath fell into the Alaknanda river here, police said.

The vehicle met with the accident near the Gholtir village on the Badrinath National Highway between Rudraprayag and Gauchar, they said.

Relief and rescue efforts, hampered by the strong currents of the river, are underway on the spot with the help of local villagers.

Three bodies have been recovered so far, Rudraprayag District Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar said. The third body has been identified as that of Gauri Soni (41) from Rajgarh in Madhya Pradesh, he said.

Two bodies were recovered earlier, one near the accident site and the other from the river near Rudraprayag, Satyendra Singh Bhandari, a member of the Red Cross Society rescue team told PTI. They were identified as Vishal Soni (42) from Rajgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Drimmy (17), a resident of Surat in Gujarat.

The accident occurred at around 7.30 am as the bus fell into the river several hundred feet down the road with a loud bang, Bhandari, who lives close to the accident site, said. Whoever heard the sound rushed towards the scene of the accident, he further said.

The injured driver of the vehicle, who hails from Kankhal in Haridwar, claimed the bus fell into the river after being hit by a truck coming from the opposite direction.

"I was driving at a speed of hardly around 10-20 kmph. We were going comfortably listening to bhajans when a truck hit the bus hard and it plunged into the gorge," the driver named Sumit said. He is among the four injured airlifted to AIIMS, Rishikesh. Eight people, including four women and two children, were injured in the accident while nine others went missing, the SP office said, adding that the injured were rushed to the district hospital from where some of them were airlifted to AIIMS, Rishikesh in a helicopter.

Those airlifted to AIIMS are Deepika Soni, Hemlata Soni, Ishwar Soni and the driver Sumit.

There were 20 people, including the driver, on board the vehicle when it fell into the river, police said.

The missing pilgrims are: Ravi Bhavasar (28) from Udaipur, Mauli Soni (19) from Gujarat, Lalit Kumar Soni (48) from Rajasthan, Sanjay Soni (55) from Udaipur, Mayuri (24) from Surat, Chetna Soni (52) from Udaipur, Cheshta (12) from Gujarat, Katta Ranjana Ashok (54) from Maharashtra and Sushila Soni (77) from Udaipur.

The injured were identified as Deepika Soni (42) from Sirohi Meena in Rajasthan, Hemlata Soni (45) from Gogunda, Rajasthan, Ishwar Soni (46) from Gujarat, Amita Soni (49) from Maharashtra, Soni Bhavna Ishwar (43) from Gujarat, Bhavya Soni (7) from Gujarat, Parth Soni (10) from Rajgarh, Madhya Pradesh and the driver named Sumit Kumar (23) from Haridwar, police said.