Firozaband: In Firozaband, Uttar Pradesh, pilgrims who were crossing over from Chhattisgarh after visiting the holy shrine of Vaishno Devi in Jammu were involved in a tragic accident. The tragedy happened early Saturday. A bus moving along the Agra-Lucknow Expressway was heading to a shrine with devotees; it crashed and rolled off the road, claiming some lives and leaving several passengers injured.
As recounted by newspapers, the event occurred some 51 km before Naseerpur Thana. Traveling from Chhattisgarh to the Vaishno Devi in Jammu, the bus with passengers on board had 65 people from Chhattisgarh. Two hours after offering their prayers at the temple, they proceeded to Vrindavan, where the disaster occurred.
According to the eyewitnesses, the accident occurred when the bus driver was probably sleeping while at the wheel, swerving the bus off the road and causing it to overturn along the expressway. This mishap underlines that the work of expressway personnel and local inspectors enabled the removal of the passengers who raised the alarm, and in the subsequent rescue operations, the injured people were quickly taken to hospitals in the area.
Among the unfortunate victims, two people died, and another 35 people were otherwise injured, with estimations suggesting some of them may be severely injured. However, the two young girls among seven people who sustained injuries during the attack were identified as aged seven and 14 years, respectively, who died of their injuries while being treated. A search is being made by the police to find the identity of all the passengers who have been involved in the accident.
The entire group of victims is from Chhattisgarh state. They were on a pilgrimage trip to Vaishno Devi for Mata ki bhakti and returning home on the intervening night of Friday. The bus crash has left people in their respective homes in a dilemma as they wait for news on the wellbeing of their kin. On the other hand, the powers that be have already opened an independent inquiry to determine the real reason behind the occurrence of this terrible event and to punish all people who led to the death of some people.
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