Uttarakhand: Five women die as boulder falls on moving bus

Five women pilgrims were killed today when a boulder slid down a hill and fell on the bus in which they were travelling.

The accident occurred at Lohali near Kakarighat in this district when the bus, which was returning to Kotdwar from Bageshwar, was hit by the boulder, SSP Nainital Janmejay Khanduri said.

The deceased were pilgrims who were on their way back to Kotdwar after visiting the Bageshwar temple, he said.

Khanduri, who supervised the rescue operations, said that due to the ongoing work to expand the road network in the area combined with the seasonal rains, such a tragedy had taken place.

The ongoing construction in the hilly area on the Nainital-Almora National Highway may also be a factor that led to the incident, he said.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)