A military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) brought to Maharashtra’s Jalgaon the bodies of 25 Indian pilgrims who died in a tragic bus accident in Nepal. The accident occurred on Friday in Nepal’s Tanahun district, around 115 km from Kathmandu.
The pilgrims were among a group of 110 people from several parts of Maharashtra who had gone to Nepal in two buses and one traveller van. Forty-eight of the pilgrims crossed the land border to Maharajganj in Uttar Pradesh along with the bodies of the bus driver and his assistant, who were from the state.
The pilgrims, who hail from Maharashtra, will leave on a train from Gorakhpur for their journey back home, officials said.
“Responding swiftly to a call for crucial humanitarian support, the #IAF deployed a C-130J aircraft to airlift the mortal remains of 25 Indian citizens who tragically lost their lives in a road accident in Nepal,” the IAF said in a post on ‘X’.
“The mortal remains were transported from Bharatpur (Nepal) to Jalgaon (Maharashtra). The #IAF extends its deepest condolences to the bereaved families and wishes a swift recovery to those injured,” it said.
Union minister Raksha Khadse, who was in Kathmandu to oversee the return of the victims and survivors, said on X, “Special arrangements have been made for remaining passengers to travel from Gorakhpur to their hometown. Very much thankful to the Indian Railways for the swift response.”
Sixteen people were injured in the accident and one person was missing, according to the Indian embassy in Nepal.
Vishnu Kesarwani, the proprietor of Gorakhpur-based Kesarwani Travels which provided three buses for the Maharashtra tourists’ tour, said the passengers were on their way to Kathmandu from Pokhara. The group was initially picked up from Prayagraj and taken to Chitrakoot, Ayodhya, Gorakhpur, Sonauli and Lumbini, and Pokhara in Nepal.
