Fourteen persons killed as minibus falls into gorge in Uttarakhand

The minibus was hit by a landslide at around 70 kilometers from the shrine on the Gangotri national highway, pushing it into a gorge, and killing at least 14 persons, including three women, a teenage girl, and the driver. (Photo for representational purpose)

Fourteen persons were killed and one other injured as a minibus fell 100 meters into a gorge near Sanglai in Uttarkashi district, on Monday.

All the passengers in the minibus, who were residents of Bhankoli village in Uttarkashi district, were returning after performing a ‘puja’ ritual at Gangotri shrine. The minibus was hit by a landslide at around 70 kilometers from the shrine on the Gangotri national highway, pushing it into a gorge, and killing at least 14 persons, including three women, a teenage girl, and the driver.

The local administration, the police, and the SDRF teams that were present during the search operations rescued one teenage girl.

“Thirteen persons died on the spot, and one teenage girl died while she was being taken to Dehradun for medical assistance. However, one other teenage girl has been rescued and will be admitted to a hospital in Dehradun,” Uttarkashi District Magistrate Ashish Chauhan said, adding that the search operation would continue on Tuesday.