Pilgrims from Tamil Nadu stranded in a flooded river in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar 

The pilgrims had come to the historic Nishkalank Mahadev temple in Koliyak village to offer prayers

A luxury bus carrying several dozen passengers, all pilgrims from Tamil Nadu, has been stranded in a turbulent flooded causeway over Maleshri river in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar district on Thursday (September 26, 2024).

After their bus was stranded in heavy flood waters, a truck was sent with rescuers to bring the passengers out of the bus but that truck also got stranded in turbulent waters while passengers on board.

The rescue operation is currently underway with NDRF and SDRF teams having reached the site. Bhavnagar district collector and Superintendent of Police along with other top officials are also at the site to oversee the rescue works.

According to sources, a second truck laden with sandbags was taken to bring the passengers but that truck also got stuck near the two vehicles already stranded amidst heavy flood waters.

“The causeway got flooded after heavy rains in the region. After the bus got stranded, a rescue operation was launched. The rescuers reached the site in a truck and transferred the pilgrims to the vehicle through the window of the bus. But the truck also got stranded,” a senior government official from Bhavnagar said.

Gujarat Congress President and Rajya Sabha member Shaktisinh Gohil in a post on X urged the state government to ensure that all passengers were rescued.

Meanwhile, the officials added that all the pilgrims were safe and they would be taken out after the flood waters recedes.

The passengers are pilgrims from Tamil Nadu who had come to the historic Nishkalank Mahadev temple in Koliyak village to offer prayers. The village is situated 25 km from Bhavnagar city.

On Thursday (September 26, 2024), Bhavnagar received extremely heavy rains while several other parts of the state received moderate rains.

Published - September 27, 2024 01:41 am IST