Nainital: Two people died and 16 others were injured after a tempo traveller carrying 18 pilgrims veered off the road and fell into a ravine in the Jyolikot area on Saturday night. The pilgrims were returning from Kainchi Dham when the accident occurred near Dogaon.

According to police, the driver lost control of the vehicle, causing it to tumble off a cliff and become temporarily lodged in a tree about 12 meters below. However, the tree gave way, and the tempo traveller plunged further down into the ravine.

Locals heard the passengers’ cries for help and alerted police, who, along with the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams, rushed to the site to conduct rescue and relief operations. The injured were transported to Sushila Tiwari Hospital in Haldwani, with some in critical condition, including a one-year-old child.

The deceased were identified as Sonu Kumar, 32, from Rohtak, Haryana, and Gaurav Bansal from Badarpur. Jyolikot police post in-charge Shyam Singh Bora described the accident as horrific, noting that the driver’s head was severed in the crash.

The pilgrims had travelled from Delhi’s Badarpur border to visit Baba Neem Karoli’s ashram at Kainchi Dham before the tragic incident.

With inputs from PTI