5 Kanwariyas killed, 23 injured in bus-truck collision in Jharkhand
Ranchi: At least five Kanwariyas were killed and 23 others injured on Tuesday after a collision took place between a bus with passengers on board and a truck, loaded with cooking gas cylinders, in Jharkhand's Deoghar district, police said. The accident occurred near the Jamuniya forest under the Mohanpur Police Station limits around 4.30 am when the bus collided with the vehicle, an officer said. "At least five people were killed and many injured when a 32-seater bus with Kanwariyas on board collided with a truck, transporting gas cylinders, near the Jamuniya forest in Deoghar's Mohanpur," Inspector General (Dumka Zone) Shailendra Kumar Sinha told media.
After the collision with the gas cylinder-laden vehicle, the driver of the bus lost control, the IG said, adding that two of the injured are serious. However, MP Nishikant Dubey, in a post on X, claimed that 18 Kanwariyas lost their lives in the accident. "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," he posted on X. However, Dumka IG confirmed that only five people lost their lives, while two others are serious. Kanwariyas are devotees of Lord Shiva. At least 23 Kanwariyas were injured in the accident and taken to various hospitals and nearby primary health centres, including the Saraiyahat PHC in Dumka, another officer said.
Casualties may increase as the condition of several injured is serious, he added. The district administration has been alerted after the accident, he said. Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren 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. Deoghar Sub Divisional Officer Ravi Kumar said the Kanwariyas were on their way to the Basukinath temple. Traffic Deputy SP Laxman Prasad, however, said at least nine people have lost their lives in the accident, and the injured were being sent to hospitals.
