Almora bus accident: Four injured passengers continue to be critical

The condition of four out of the eight injured passengers brought to AIIMS-Rishikesh from Ramnagar after the bus accident in Almora continues to be critical, doctors said on Tuesday, 5 November.

The packed-beyond-capacity bus carrying passengers returning to work after Diwali fell into a deep gorge in Uttarakhand's Almora district on Monday, killing at least 36 of more than 60 people on board.

Twenty-seven people were injured, four of them critically, when the 43-seater bus, operated by the private Garhwal Motor Owners Union, was on its way from Pauri in Garhwal region to Ramnagar in Kumaon about 250 km away.

Three-year-old Shivani, who lost both her parents and suffered injuries in her ribs in the accident on Monday, is among the eight who have been admitted to AIIMS-Rishikesh. She will be kept at the hospital for a few days more under the supervision of doctors, AIIMS-Rishikesh public relations officer Sandeep Kumar Singh said.

Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the state government would sponsor Shivani's education.

Shivani and her parents were returning home to Ramnagar after celebrating Diwali at their ancestral house in Birkhet. Her father Manoj Rawat and mother Charu were among those killed.

The condition of 35-year-old Rahul, 15-year-old Tushar, 25-year-old Akash and 27-year-old Deepak continues to be serious, the PRO said quoting the doctors treating them.

Rahul has injuries in his liver and kidney while Tushar suffered a deep injury in his head as well as a fracture in his right hand, the AIIMS-Rishikesh officer said, adding both are intubated and have been kept in the ICU.

Akash has a deep injury in his ribs and his spine is also fractured while Deepak is also in a critical condition due to a head injury.

However, 19-year-old Akshita and 30-year-old Ashok are out of danger but their treatment continues, Singh said.

State urban development minister Prem Chand Aggarwal and former chief minister Harish Rawat met the injured passengers at AIIMS-Rishikesh on Tuesday and spoke to the doctors attending to them.

Six of the injured passengers were airlifted and one was brought by road to AIIMS-Rishikesh from Ramnagar on Monday, 4 November.

Another injured passenger, Bharat Singh (45), was brought from Haldwani's Sushila Tiwari Hospital in a heli-ambulance on Tuesday afternoon and admitted to the trauma emergency unit at AIIMS.