Gandhinagar: Twenty-one people were killed and 32 injured after a bus carrying over 50 passengers fell into an abyss near the temple town of Ambaji in Banaskantha district of North Gujarat on Monday.
In another accident on the Ahmedabad-Vadodara expressway, five people died taking the total death roll on road accidents in Gujarat today to twenty six.
Four children, 14 men and three women are among the victims of the tragedy in the Ambaji road mishap. The injured have been taken to Civil Hospital in Palanpur. Five persons are in a critical condition.
The bus driver lost control of the vehicle as the roads were slippery due to heavy rainfall in the area.
PM Narendra Modi expressed grief over the loss of lives and tweeted, “Devastating news from Banaskantha. I am extremely pained by the loss of lives due to an accident. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families.”
He said the local administration is providing all possible help to the injured. “May they recover soon,” he tweeted.
Home Minister Amit Shah also offered his deepest condolences. “Deeply anguished and pained by the loss of lives due to a tragic bus accident in Banaskantha, Gujarat.
Have spoken to the state and local authorities, they are doing everything possible to help the people in need,” he tweeted. “My deepest condolences. May the injured recover at the earliest.”
By RK MISRA
