Eight pilgrims were killed and at least 20 others were injured when a tractor-trolley in which they were travelling skidded and fell into an 80 feet deep trench from the hills of Mansa Mata Mandir, 70-km away from Jhunjhunu district headquarters.
The devotees from village Rajiv Puri had gone to attend ‘Prasadi’ after a religious ceremony held at Mansa Mata Mandir where a Durga Mata’s statue was being installed. While they were returning, their vehicle fell into the gorge at 6 pm, the Superintendent of Police, Jhunjhunu, Mridul Kachawa told The Statesman.
A team of State Disaster Rescue Force (SDRF) has been called to search the passengers if any of them is trapped, he said.
The bodies were shifted to Udaipurvati’s Government Hospital, while the injured were rushed to BDK Hospital after they were rescued from the valley, he said.
The identity of the deceased is yet to be ascertained, and the death toll may go up as there were a number of serious patients who were admitted to the hospital, the SP added.
