Uttarakhand: 14 dead as bus falls into gorge, PM announces Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia

The accident happened at around 3:20 am on Tuesday when the guests were returning after attending the marriage in Panchmukhi Dharamshala in Tanakpur. Most of the deceased hail from Danda and Katauthi villages of Kankai. Police and rescue teams rushed to the spot and pulled out 14 bodies from the gorge. Two seriously injured persons, including the bus driver, were rushed to a district hospital.

Khatima (Uttarakhand):Fourteen people returning from a wedding were killed and two others injured when a vehicle fell into a deep gorge on the Sukhidhang-Dandaminar road in Uttarakhand's Champawat district, police said on Tuesday.

The accident happened at around 3:20 am when the guests were returning after attending the marriage in Panchmukhi Dharamshala in Tanakpur. Most of the deceased hail from Danda and Katauthi villages of Kankai. Police and rescue teams rushed to the spot and pulled out 14 bodies from the gorge. Two seriously injured persons, including the bus driver, were rushed to a district hospital.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a tweet, expressed condolences over the tragic incident and said the local administration was engaged in relief and rescue operations. An ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) has also been announced for the next of kin of those who lost their lives in the accident. The PM also announced financial assistance of Rs 50,000 for the injured. "PM Modi has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from PMNRF for the next of kin of those who lost their lives due to an accident in Uttarakhand. The injured would be given Rs 50,000," PMO said in a tweet.

The exact reasons behind the accident are yet to be ascertained, however, its being assumed that either overloading of the vehicle or the driver falling asleep might have led to the mishap. Police is investigating the matter with every possible angle. In the past couple of months, Uttarakhand had witnessed some major road accidents.

In October last year, five tourists from West Bengal were killed and 15 others injured after their vehicle overturned near Betop drain of Farsali and fell into a gorge after colliding with another car. In the other incident in the same month, 13 people lost their lives while many others were injured after the utility bus they were travelling in fell into a gorge in Uttarakhand’s Chakrata in October