Three killed, three missing & five hurt after jeep falls off Rishikesh- Srinagar national highway
Monday, 10 July 2023 | PNS | NEW TEHRI/DEHRADUN
Three people were killed while three others remained missing after their jeep fell into a gorge near the Ganga river on Rishikesh- Srinagar National Highway (NH 58) in Tehri district in the wee hours of Sunday. Five persons were also injured in the mishap. A total of 11 pilgrims belonging to various states including Delhi, Bihar, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh were in the jeep which was being driven towards Rishikesh from Sonprayag in Rudraprayag district. The officials said that the police received information about the accident around 3 AM on Sunday after which rescue teams of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were called at the site to carry out the search operation. The teams started the operation and rescued six people from the gorge amid the rainfall by 7:30 AM and sent them to the hospital for treatment. The injured people have been identified as Bijendra Pandey (46) from Delhi, Pradeep Kumar (27) from Punjab, Roshan Kumar (25) from Bihar, Kalyani Singh (25) from Andhra Pradesh and Akash Singh (22), as per the officials. The teams found the first body around 8:30 AM and the two more bodies around 9 AM. The deceased have been identified as Abhijeet Tyagi (25) from New Delhi, Ravi (35) from Andhra Pradesh and Saurabh Kumar (25) from Bihar. The rescue team continued its search for the missing people till the evening but did not find them till the time of this report being filed. The officials said that the rising water level of the river due to heavy rain made it difficult for the search teams to continue the rescue operation so the authorities decided to resume the search on Monday. The missing people who have been identified on the basis of the statements of injured people are Atul Singh (24), Akshay Kumar (28) from Bihar and the driver Ankit Singh Rana from Ukhimath in Rudraprayag, said the officials. On the question of the accident, the police said that the accident took place when the vehicle reportedly fell into a gorge from Malakunthi bridge near Anand Kashi Hotel near NH 58. The officials said that the injured pilgrims have stated in the initial questioning that the driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle due to which it fell into the gorge. The police have sent the bodies retrieved from the river for the post mortem and have informed the families of the deceased, added the officials.
