Two Russians killed, one missing as vehicle plunges into river

Two Russian nationals were killed and one was missing while nine of their compatriots were injured when a vehicle in which they were travelling from Gangotri to Uttarkashi plunged into Bhagirathi river today.

The mishap occurred at Bhagori village in Uttarkashi district on Rishikesh-Gangotri National Highway this afternoon, the Station House Officer of Maneri police station, who was at the site, said.

The tempo fell into Bhagirathi, a tributary of the Ganga, as its driver, an Indian from Rishikesh, lost control of the vehicle, he said.

Bodies of two Russians, one of them a woman, have been recovered while one of the passengers was missing, the official said. Among the nine injured Russian nationals, eight were women. The driver of the tempo was also injured.

The injured were brought in a chopper to Jollygrant hospital in Dehradun where the condition of six of them was stated to be critical.

Senior officials were on the spot and search was on to trace the missing Russian, he said. Uttarkashi is 200 km from Dehradun, capital of Uttarakhand.

The accident occurred when the tempo carrying the Russian tourists was trying to negotiate a steep slope near Harshil and rolled down about 100 metres into the river, Uttarkashi Superintendent of Police Jagat Ram Jyoti said on phone.

The vehicle which met with the accident was one of the four tempo travellers carrying a group of 47 Russians from Gangotri to Uttarkashi, the SP said.

A team of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel stationed at Harshil is searching for the lone missing Russian, he said. The other Russians tourists who were travelling in the group are being brought to Uttarkashi under police escort, he said.