DEHRADUN: As many as seven pilgrims from Gujarat were killed and 28 others sustained injuries after a tourist bus plunged into a gorge from the Gangotri national highway in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district on Sunday evening.

According to sources, a tourist bus carrying 35 people, including a driver and conductor, was on its way back to Uttarkashi from the Gangotri shrine when the accident occurred.Following the accident, NDRF, police, and SDRF teams, along with local villagers, initiated a rescue operation.Additionally, the district magistrate (DM) and superintendent of police (SP) hurried to the scene with extra personnel and medical teams from the district headquarters.

After an approximately two-hour operation, 28 injured individuals were successfully rescued and taken to the district hospital.

Meanwhile, the remains of seven pilgrims were retrieved and sent for postmortem examination.

Devendra Patwal, the district disaster management officer, said that all the pilgrims were originally from Bhavnagar district in Gujarat, while the driver and conductor were from Dehradun.

The identification process is being carried out by the police.

"Five individuals with serious injuries have been transferred to a higher medical facility in Dehradun," Patwal added.