At least 18 Kanwariyas lost their lives and several others sustained injuries early Monday morning when a bus carrying devotees collided with a truck transporting cooking gas cylinders in Jharkhand’s Deoghar district.
The tragic accident occurred around 4:30 am near the Jamuniya forest area under the jurisdiction of the Mohanpur Police Station. The bus, reportedly a 32-seater, was en route with devotees participating in the annual Kanwar Yatra when it crashed into the gas-laden truck.
“In my Lok Sabha constituency of Deoghar, 18 devotees lost their lives in a tragic accident involving a bus and a truck during the Kanwar Yatra in the holy month of Shravan,” Godda MP Nishikant Dubey wrote in a post on X. “ May Baba Baidyanath give strength to their families to bear this grief.”
Inspector General of Police (Dumka Zone), Shailendra Kumar Sinha, confirmed the toll and said emergency teams were immediately dispatched to the site. “At least five people were initially confirmed dead, and many others were critically injured. The number has since risen,” he told PTI.
Local authorities, including the district administration, launched immediate rescue operations. The injured were swiftly taken to nearby hospitals and primary health centres for treatment.
Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives. In a statement, he said, “My condolences to the families of the deceased. The district administration is ensuring all necessary relief, rescue efforts, and medical care for those injured.”
An investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of the collision. “This morning, extremely sad news was received about the death of devotees traveling in a bus accident near Jamunia Chowk in the Mohanpur block of Deoghar. The district administration is providing relief and rescue operations along with medical facilities for the injured. May Baba Baidyanath grant peace to the souls of the devotees who died in the accident and give strength to the grieving families to bear this hour of sorrow,” Soren wrote on X.
