9 tourists from Gujarat killed as mini-bus plunges into Uttarakhand gorge

At least nine tourists from Gujarat’s Rajkot were killed and five others injured when a mini-bus carrying tourists fell into a gorge in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district Friday evening, police said. Rescue operations by police and state disaster response force (SDRF) teams were on at the spot.

The incident happened near Muneri town on Gangotri highway around 4 pm, deputy superintendent of police, Uttarkashi, Manoj Kumar Thakur said.

“As soon as the Muneri police received the information about the accident, they rushed to the spot for rescue operation. Nine persons travelling in the mini-bus died on the spot and their bodies were recovered from the spot. Five were found injured by the rescue team and were rushed to the district hospital where they are undergoing treatment,” he said.

“As the rescue operation is still on, more details about the passengers could not be ascertained except the fact that they hail from Rajkot in Gujarat. Also, the police are still to find that whether the vehicle was going towards Gangotri or returning from there,” Thakur added.

SDRF official Praveen Alok said, “The incident happened about 30 km away from Sungad area. There are two teams of SDRF involved in the rescue work which is still on.”