One dead, 13 injured after vehicle of pilgrims falls into Mandakini River in Rudraprayag district
Thursday, 26 September 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
One pilgrim died and 13 sustained injuries after a vehicle plunged off the highway into the Mandakini River near Gaurikund on the Kedarnath route in Rudraprayag on Wednesday. The officials said that a vehicle carrying 14 people including the driver, was en route from Sonprayag to Gaurikund when it veered off the road, falling into the river below. According to them, 13 passengers were rescued on time, while one person, identified as 68-year-old Sunil Das from Kolkata, West Bengal, remained missing. The teams found his body hours later, as per the officials. They said that three pilgrims sustained critical injuries and were airlifted to a higher medical centre for treatment via a heli-ambulance. The others were taken to a nearby hospital where they received necessary medical care. The passengers hailed from various locations, including Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Delhi. The administration is working to ensure proper medical aid and all possible support for the victims, the officials said.
In another two separate incidents, two people from Chandigarh and Uttar Pradesh lost their lives on Wednesday in Uttarakhand. A car accident occurred near Dhaulidhar, Devprayag in Tehri district, where a vehicle fell 100 meters down a slope. The SDRF recovered the body of Suraj Madan, a resident of Chandigarh. Besides this, a 26-year-old man Rahul Shukla of Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh drowned while bathing in the river near Saptrishi Ghat in Haridwar.
