An accident took place near the Jamuniya forest in Mohanpur at 4.30 am on Tuesday when the passenger bus carrying Kanwariyas collided with the gas cylinder laden truck after the bus driver lost control.
Deoghar Sub Divisional Officer Ravi Kumar said the Kanwariyas were on their way to the Basukinath temple, reported PTI. “After the collision, the bus moved another 100-200 feet before hitting a pile of bricks,” he added.
Naman Priyesh Lakra, Deputy Commissioner, Deoghar, confirmed the casualties and said that eight of the injured are being treated at AIIMS, while the rest are undergoing treatment at Sadar Hospital The Indian Express reported.
“The driver died on the spot along with four others. Our police and medical teams immediately rushed to the location, rescued the injured, and admitted them to the Sadar Hospital,” SDO Kumar said.
Whereas Traffic Deputy SP Laxman Prasad, said at least nine people have lost their lives in the accident, and the injured were being sent to hospitals.
The total death toll is yet to be confirmed.
However MP Nishikant Dubey, giving a higher death toll wrote in a post on X, "Eighteen devotees have died in a bus-truck accident during the Kanwar Yatra in the month of Shravan in Deoghar in my Lok Sabha constituency. May Baba Baidyanath Ji give strength to their families to bear the loss”.
In a post on X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote about the tragic road accident. He said, “The road accident in Deoghar, Jharkhand, is extremely tragic. I express my deep condolences to the families of the devotees who lost their lives in it. May God give them the strength to bear this pain. Along with this, I pray for the speedy recovery of all the injured.”
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren also condoled the death of the Kanwaiyas and said a rescue operation was being conducted by the district administration there.
"Very sad news has been received about the deaths of devotees travelling in a bus in an accident near Jamuniya chowk in Mohanpur block of Deoghar." "The district administration is providing medical assistance to the injured with relief and rescue operations. May Baba Baidyanath grant peace to the souls of the devotees who died in the accident and give strength to the bereaved families to bear this moment of grief," Soren posted on X.
