4 Rajasthan tourists dead, 3 missing as cab falls into Alaknanda

Dehradun: Four tourists from Jaisalmer in Rajasthan died, a 12-year-old boy was rescued in critical condition and three others remained missing after their cab fell into Alaknanda river near Hotel Ganga Darshan at Devprayag in Tehri district on Tuesday, police said. The vehicle, carrying seven passengers and a driver, had been hired from Haridwar, and police said the purpose and route of their visit were still being verified.Tehri SSP Shweta Choubey told TOI that all seven passengers were from Jaisalmer and the driver’s identity is yet to be confirmed. “The seven Jaisalmer residents were in a cab taken from Haridwar, and it fell into Alaknanda river near Hotel Ganga Darshan at Devprayag. Two men, a woman and a teenage boy were among the four dead, whereas a 12-year-old boy was saved. Three others are still missing. Our divers tried their best, but the river flow was strong. On Wednesday morning, we will pull out the vehicle and resume the search operation,” Choubey said.Those travelling in the vehicle were identified as Dr Dinesh, 27, his wife Kamla, Guddi Devi, 40, Ashlesh, 22, Nambardar, Janhvi, 18, and Ayushman, 12, while police were still confirming the driver’s details. Ayushman was rescued in a critical condition and admitted to a hospital in Srinagar, officials said. "The identities of the deceased will be confirmed once the family members arrive here," Choubey added.According to State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Deoprayag police station alerted the force that an SUV, bearing registration number UK08TA-5433, had gone out of control and plunged into a deep gorge before falling into the river. An SDRF team from Post Byasi rushed to the spot, while an additional team with a raft was sent from SDRF Post Dhalwala and another rescue team from SDRF Post Srinagar was also deployed because of the scale of the accident.SDRF commandant Arpan Yaduvanshi said teams rescued the injured boy and recovered the bodies from the river during the operation. “The boy was rescued in a critically injured condition and immediately sent to hospital for treatment. The bodies were recovered from the river, brought to the roadhead through a raft and handed over to district police for necessary action,” he said.Yaduvanshi added that rescue teams searched inside and around the accident-hit vehicle but did not find any other person there. “Rescue teams conducted an extensive search inside and around the accident-hit vehicle; however, no other person was found inside. An intensive search operation is underway across all probable areas to locate the remaining missing persons,” he said.Devprayag, where Bhagirathi and Alaknanda meet and flow onward as Ganga, lies on the Rishikesh-Badrinath highway and sees heavy movement of pilgrims and tourists during the season. Officials said the strong current and the vehicle’s position in the river made the rescue operation difficult, and teams would attempt to retrieve the cab on Wednesday morning before expanding the search downstream.Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed grief over the accident and said search and rescue efforts were being carried out on priority. “An intensive search and rescue operation is underway to locate persons missing in the accident. During this difficult time, state govt stands with the affected families with full sensitivity and commitment, and relief and rescue operations are being conducted on the highest priority basis,” Dhami said.