16 Muslim pilgrims dead as bus collides with truck

With the recovery of eight more bodies, the toll in the mishap involving a bus carrying pilgrims to Ajmer and a truck in the district rose to 16 today.

Another 12 persons were seriously injured when the bus collided head-on with the truck on Gonda-Bahraich road near Chilwaria village and caught fire last night.

The bus carrying the pilgrims from Ambedkar Nagar to Ajmer Sharif met with the head-on collision with the truck on Gonda-Bahraich road near Chilwaria village and caught fire at around 10.30 pm on Friday.

Chief Development Officer of the district Sukhlal Bharti said 44 passengers of the 54-seater bus, that was carrying 60-70 people, were rescued.

Some pilgrims managed to get out of the bus, said the sources.

Over a dozen pilgrims were taken to hospital.

Rescuers, using gas-cutters, were trying to cut open the twisted metal of the bus to pull out bodies or possible survivors from inside the vehicle.