My brother Vinod Pokhriyal was sitting in the bus opposite the driver's seat. When the bus fell into a ditch, he fell 100 feet into the ditch and clung to a tree, saving his life. He was coming to Ramnagar to meet me.
I got a call from him around 8 am. Vinod said in a very frightened voice- I am hanging in the valley 100 feet below, please save me. All these things are being told by Arun, the brother of passenger Vinod who survived the bus accident in Uttarakhand.
Vinod's brother Arun Kumar Pokhriyal spoke to Bhaskar.
A bus full of passengers fell into a 150 feet deep ravine in Almora. 36 people lost their lives in this tragedy, while 19 people are admitted to various hospitals. The rescue was late. The injured could not be treated quickly. The Pushkar Singh Dhami government of Uttarakhand is surrounded by allegations regarding all these.
Bhaskar's team reached ground zero to understand the cause and circumstances of the accident. Tried to understand the entire story of the accident from the people who were traveling in the bus at that time. Read the full report…
Ramdutt Joshi Government Joint Hospital in Ramnagar where the accident injured people have been admitted.
The bus left from Ramnagar carrying 60 passengers
Ramnagar Jim Corbett Park in Nainital district of Uttarakhand is famous not only in the country but also in the whole world. From this Ramnagar a road passes through Jim Corbett's forest and further towards Mercula. From Marchula, about 30 km from Ramnagar, one road leads directly to Pauri, while the other road leads through Kumaon and Garhwal regions to Goli Khal, Sarai Khet.
This road is very narrow and its condition is very bad. Being between Jim Corbett and being a single road, traffic on this road is closed after sunset. Hence, the people of the villages connected to this road leave their homes early in the morning to complete their work. Return home before sunset.
The bus fell into this ditch, 36 people died in the accident.
There is a village called Kinath Barath before Sarai Khet on this road. This village comes in Paudi district. From this Kinath Barath, a Garhwal Motors Users (GMU) bus plies daily to Ramnagar. On Monday also, the same bus left for Ramnagar with more than 60 passengers at exactly 6.15 am.
Most of the people on the bus were residents of nearby villages. He went to Ramnagar to buy his necessities. At 7:30 am on Monday, the bus fell into a 150 feet deep ravine near Kuppi Bandh (bordering Almora district), three km before reaching Marchula.
Given by people traveling by bus…
Karan, who was injured in the accident, told his story to Bhaskar.
'The bus fell 150 feet into the valley'
Admitted to the ICU at Ramdutt Joshi Government Joint Hospital in Ramnagar, he said – 'I am a resident of Goli Khal village in Pauri district. I am studying in delhi and also doing data feeding work there. On the day of Diwali, he came to the village to celebrate the festival with his grandparents.
We boarded the bus at 6:15 am. The bus was full. About 60-70 people were on board. Barely an hour and a half had passed since the bus moved. Before Marchula, one has to take a sharp U-turn from the road at Kuppi Bend. But our bus did not take a U-turn here. The bus suddenly fell into the valley at the same place.
It felt like a stone had come under the bus. The speed of the bus was also high. Before we knew it, the bus fell into a 150 feet deep ravine. I was sitting in the last seat of the bus. The bus first hit a tree and then fell down. I was conscious until I fell down.
A video has surfaced from the hospital, in which three people are seen lying on the bed.
People were jumping out of the bus windows and falling down. As soon as the bus fell, people started falling on each other. Somehow I got out of there. A river was flowing a few steps away.
I went there and drank two glasses of water and then washed my face. After this I fainted. We all remained there for half an hour in this condition. Then 10-15 boys from the surrounding village reached the spot and helped us. We were taken out and sent to the hospital.
Hanging in the valley, Vinod called out to his brother
This bus used to go to Ramnagar every day. 8 people of Barath Malla village were also traveling in the bus. Vinod Pokhriyal is one of them. 48-year-old Vinod Pokhriyal is a farmer in his village. On Monday he was coming to Ramnagar to meet his brother Arun Pokhriyal.
Arun told Bhaskar – There was no mobile phone signal when the bus fell into the ditch. But Vinod was hanging from a tree in the middle about 50 feet below the road. That's why the signal was coming in his phone. He called me while he was hanging on the tree.
Vinod Pokhriyal, who was traveling in the bus, sustained serious injuries.
Talking on the phone, I immediately informed the Mercula police station about the accident. I was the first to report the accident to the police. After this, I also told about the accident to one of my acquaintances posted on dial 108 in Dehradun.
Vinod hung on the tree for an hour
Admitted to the ICU of Ramdutt Joshi Government Joint Hospital in Ramnagar, Vinod said – Almost an hour had passed since I was hanging from the tree. It had been half an hour since I called brother Arun. But help did not reach us till then.
I was afraid of losing my hand. I was constantly losing courage. Every now and then, when I looked at the 100-foot-deep trench, my furrows stood up. Below was a pile of dead bodies and wounded. Everyone was screaming. But no one noticed us for an hour. Later some local youths arrived and pulled me out with the help of a rope.
When CM Pushkar was going to Dhami, many people raised slogans against him.
CM Dhami faced huge opposition in Ramnagar
There is a lot of anger among the people due to the delay in the rescue operation and the lack of proper treatment to the injured after the accident. When Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reached Ramnagar Hospital at around 5 pm on Monday, he faced protests.
Angry people raised slogans against the CM and sat in front of his car. The police somehow managed to get the CM's convoy out of the hospital premises. Earlier, the Chief Minister went to the hospital to inquire about the injured and instructed the doctors to provide good treatment.
After overturning several times, the bus completely broke down.
Six of the dead were from Barath village alone
So far 36 people have lost their lives in the Almora bus accident. While 13 injured are admitted to Ramdutt Joshi Government Joint Hospital in Ramnagar. Apart from this, 6 seriously injured people have been airlifted to AIIMS Rishikesh.
Some of the injured were taken to private hospitals by their relatives. Among those who died in the accident, 6 people were from Barath village alone, from where this bus plies daily. Two people of this village are also seriously injured.
- related to the accident:-
36 killed, 6 injured in bus accident in Uttarakhand: Bus carrying 42 people, plunged into 150 feet deep valley; Many passengers were thrown from the windows
A passenger bus plunged into a 150-feet deep ravine in Uttarakhand's Almora at 8 am on Monday. 36 people died in this accident, while 6 people were injured. The accident took place near Kupi in Almora. There were 42 passengers in the bus. According to the police, the death toll may rise further.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
