A 50-year-old Kanwariya was killed and 38 others injured after a double-decker sleeper bus carrying around 73 pilgrims overturned on National Highway-30 in Lakhimpur Kheri early Wednesday, police said.
How events unfolded
The accident occurred near the Uchholiya gurdwara along the Sharda canal in Uchholiya police station area. The pilgrims, residents of Bitiya village in Bihar’s West Champaran district, were returning from Haridwar with Gangajal and were headed to Ayodhya for jalabhishek. On hearing the crash, local residents rushed to the spot and began rescue operations. Members of the gurdwara committee, the ‘Seva Ka Junoon’ team, police and an NHAI team joined the rescue effort. Uchholiya SHO Awadh Raj Sengar reached the spot with police personnel. Rescuers worked to pull passengers trapped inside the bus and shifted the injured to hospitals by ambulances. Police have begun investigating the circumstances leading to the accident, including the allegations that the driver fell asleep and that the bus was being driven at high speed.
