Himachal: 6 devotees killed, 25 injured in separate road accidents
Six devotees were killed while 25 others were injured in two road accidents in Himachal Pradesh today. In the first incident, a vehicle carrying 16 devotees fell into a gorge near Una's Neherian village, killing six persons, including four women and injuring 10 others. Police said bodies of deceased were sent to the zonal hospital for post-mortem, while the injured were admitted to hospital.
Devotees went to pay obeisance at Dera Vadbhag Singh Gurudwara
The group of 16 devotees from Batala tehsil in Gurdaspur district of Punjab had come to pay obeisance at the Dera Vadbhag Singh Gurudwara, near Una, and the accident took place while they were returning, the police said. Eyewitnesses said the vehicle was overloaded and the accident occurred as the driver lost control of it while avoiding a head-on collision with a truck.
Case was lodged and probe is underway
Una District Police Chief Diwakar Sharma said a case was lodged and a probe was on to ascertain the cause of the accident. Governor Acharya Devvrat and Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur expressed shock and grief over the death of the six devotees.
15 devotees, including 14 women, injured
In another incident, 15 devotees, including 14 women, were injured when the vehicle in which they had taken a lift veered off the road near Jamal village in the Sarkaghat area of Mandi district. The injured persons were returning after taking part in a religious ceremony at Chhir village, the police said, adding that they were rushed to the civil hospital in an ambulance.