14 people died, negligence… 26 people were sitting in a vehicle with 20 seats, they had come to Uttarakhand for the first time, it became their last journey

14 people died in an accident that took place last Saturday in Rantoli on Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway. The accident-hit tempo-traveller had 20 seats, but it had 26 people including two drivers. This vehicle came fearlessly from Gurugram to Rudraprayag, but due to there being no pilgrims, it was not checked at any barrier.

All the people had booked the tempo-traveller through the agency, most of whom had come to Uttarakhand for the first time. The district disaster department and the transport department are preparing to send a notice to that agency. Officials say that more passengers than the capacity was also the reason for the accident.

On Friday night at 10 o’clock, 23 young men and women from different cities left Gurugram in a tempo-traveller for Chopta-Tungnath-Chandrashila trekking. The vehicle was not checked at any of the barriers that came after Gurugram.

The vehicle was stopped in Brahmapuri, but only to ensure that it was not going for the Char Dham Yatra. The checking team at the barrier saw whether the passengers were going for the Char Dham Yatra or not, but did not see that 26 people were sitting in a 20-seater vehicle. On entering Uttarakhand, no checking was done for excess passengers in Haridwar and Rishikesh.

District Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar said that it was found out through the Assistant Transport Divisional Officer that the accident vehicle had 20 seats. Also, its driver did not have much experience of driving in the mountains. He said that a notice will be sent to the operator of the travel agency.

The DDMO said that 23 young men and women from different places had booked tempo-travellers through an agent. Apparently, very few of these people knew each other and most did not even know that they were going to visit Uttarakhand. In the conversation with the injured, most of them said that they did not know where they were going, they were just going for a stroll.

The seriously injured were brought to Gulabrai ground from the district hospital in six ambulances. From where they were airlifted by helicopter. The ambulance of the health department brought the injured one after the other at a rapid pace, but its fans were not working. In such a situation, till the helicopter arrived in the ground, the youth present there tore cardboard to fan the injured from the heat.