Uttarakhand: Two Russians dead, 1 missing as car plunges into river

Two Russian nationals were killed and one was missing while nine of their compatriots were injured when a vehicle in which they were travelling from Gangotri to Uttarkashi plunged into the Bhagirathi river on Tuesday.

The mishap occurred at Bhagori village in Uttarkashi district on Rishikesh-Gangotri National Highway in the afternoon, the station house officer of Maneri police station, who was at the site, said.

The tempo fell into Bhagirathi, a tributary of the Ganga, as its driver, an Indian from Rishikesh, lost control of the vehicle, he said. Bodies of two Russians, one of them a woman, have been recovered while one of the passengers was missing, the official said.

Among the nine injured Russian nationals, eight were women. The driver of the tempo was also injured. The injured were brought in a chopper to Jollygrant hospital in Dehradun where the condition of six of them was stated to be critical.

Senior officials were on the spot and search was on to trace the missing Russian, he said.