36 Indian pilgrims die in Nepal bus crash

At least 35 pilgrims, most of whom are said to be from north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were killed on Sunday when an overcrowded bus heading for a Hindu festival in southern Nepal skidded off the road and fell into the Triveni river.

The temple where the pilgrims were heading for is situated in the Nawalparasi district which is 150 kilometres west of the capital of Nepal, police officials said.

Most of the passengers were going to participate in the Bolbam festival in Tribenighat, as per reports. The bodies of 25 men, 10 women and a child is said to have recovered from the accident site, stated Zeenews.

The identities of the deceased are not yet known. According to survivors there were around 75 to 100 people on board.

As per initial reports, police have cordoned off the entire area. The rescue operation is being carried out by the Nepal police and the Army.

Among ten people, who sustained injuries, five men are being treated in Nawalparasi district hospital, while four men and a woman are being treated in Chaupatta Health Centre at Semori village.
8 pilgrims killed in Himachal

SHIMLA, JUL 15 (IANS): Eight pilgrims, mostly from Kanpur city of Uttar Pradesh, were killed and 35 others injured when a bus in which they were travelling skidded off the road and fell into a 250-foot deep gorge in Himachal Pradesh, police said Sunday.

The victims included six men and two women. The injured were admitted to Rajendra Prasad Medical College and Hospital in Tanda, 30 km from the accident spot, and were out of danger.

Witnesses told police that the bus driver probably lost control over the vehicle when it was descending a steep gradient.

“After hitting a mountain, the bus rolled down the gorge,” a police official said.
It took hours for rescuers and police to climb down the mountain and bring up the bodies. Even the rainfall in the region hampered the rescue operation, police officials said.

The accident spot has earned the notoriety of being accident-prone as it has seen several road accidents in the recent past.
15 pilgrims killed in Jammu

JAMMU, JUL 15 (IANS): At least 15 people were killed and more than 18 injured when a bus carrying pilgrims returning from the Amarnath shrine fell into a gorge in Jammu and Kashmir Saturday night, police said.

The incident occurred at 11.30 p.m. after the bus skidded off the Jammu-Srinagar highway near Digdole, 165 km from here, they said.

Ten bus passengers died on the spot and the rest at a hospital in Ramban, where the injured were taken. Police said some of the passengers were missing and they were searching for them.