Dumper mows 10 pilgrims in Uttarakhand

Ten pilgrims were killed and 21 others were injured when a speeding dumper lost control and mowed them down in Tanakpur under Champat district of Uttarakhand on Friday morning.

About 250 pilgrims from three villages in Nawabganj in Bareilly were on way to Maa Purnagiri Devi temple when a dumper (UK 06 CA 8746) coming from Sitarpur lost control and run over the pilgrims from behind near Sales Tax Office in Tanakpur at around 5 am. A few pilgrims fell unconscious after seeing blood-soaked bodies of their relatives.

Nine pilgrims, including four minors, were killed on the spot while two others succumbed to injuries in the hospital. Senior police and district officials rushed to the accident site. About 21 pilgrims were admitted at the hospital in serious condition. Bodies were sent for the postmortem. Five of them were referred to Bareilly.

Those who died in the accident have been identified as Veer Singh (18), Sonu (18), Vishal (17), Ram Kumar (16), Babu (12), Kamal (17),Kesar (16) Deendayal (35), Ram Swarup (40), Sohan (40). They were all residents of Nawabganj and Baheri in Bareilly.