40 Nepalese pilgrims injured in Varanasi accident

Lucknow, Aug 18: Forty Nepalese pilgrims were injured in a road accident in Varanasi, police said on Saturday.

The pilgrims from Viratnagar Dubhi of Sunsari district, were on board a private bus hired from Bihar when the driver in a bid to save a speeding bike rider rammed into the divider.

There were 46 passengers in total.

The injured pilgrims were rushed to the Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya hospital.

They were on a 12-religious trip to India and had visited the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi and were slated to visit Mirzapur, Allahabad and Agra.

District Magistrate of Varanasi Surendra Singh and SSP Anand Kulkarni oversaw the rescue operations in which NDRF personnel were also involved, an official told IANS.