Lucknow, May 18: Nine pilgrims headed to ‘punyagiri or the mountain of good deeds, were mowed down by a speeding mini-truck in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly district on Friday, police said.

The deceased were part of a group of 250, who were walking bare foot towards the Maa Purnagiri shrine, which is located close to the Nepal border, when the incident occurred. 

The mini-truck coming from Sitarganj and headed to Tanakpur ran over 30 pilgrims near the sales tax office, an official informed. Many of the bodies were strewn in pieces all over the road.

At least 21 others have been admitted to various nearby medical facilities, where condition of five is stated to be critical. 

The Army is also aiding in the rescue and relief operations along with the district authorities. 

The injured, who sustained minor injuries have been sent to their homes in state roadways buses. 

All nine deceased have been identified. The family members have been informed of the tragedy.

The Maa Purnagiri temple is located on the top of a mountain above 3,000 metres from sea level in Uttarakhand's Tanakpur.

 

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Bareilly (UP), Nov 24: Three people died when their car fell into the Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge here on Sunday, police said, adding that they suspect the driver was misled by its navigation system into taking the unsafe route.

The accident occurred around 10 am on the Khalpur-Dataganj road when the victims were travelling from Bareilly to Dataganj in the Badaun district, they said.

"Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the system," Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said.

The driver was using a navigation system and did not realise that the bridge was unsafe, driving the car off the damaged section, the police said.

There were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the damaged bridge, leading to the fatal accident, Shivam said.

Upon receiving information, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Dataganj police station rushed to the spot. They recovered the vehicle and the bodies from the river, Shivam added.

The circle officer said that bodies had been sent for post-mortem. Further investigation into the matter is underway.