At least 18 kanwariyas lost their lives and numerous others sustained injuries after the bus they were on collided with a truck carrying cooking gas cylinders in the Deoghar district of Jharkhand.

“In my Lok Sabha constituency of Deoghar, 18 devotees tragically perished in an accident involving a bus and a truck during the Kanwar Yatra in the sacred month of Shravan,” wrote Godda MP Nishikant Dubey in a post on X. “May Baba Baidyanath provide strength to their families to endure this sorrow.”

the incident occurred around 4:30 am near the Jamuniya forest, within the jurisdiction of the Mohanpur Police Station.

Previously, Inspector General (Dumka Zone) Shailendra Kumar Sinha informed that five fatalities had been confirmed and that many of the injured were in critical condition.

“At least five individuals were killed and numerous others injured when a 32-seater bus carrying Kanwariyas collided with a truck transporting gas cylinders near the Jamuniya forest in Deoghar’s Mohanpur,” Sinha stated.

“The number of casualties may rise as several of the injured are in serious condition,” he added.

As per Deoghar sub-divisional officer Ravi Kumar, the Kanwariyas were en route to the Basukinath temple. Kanwariyas are devotees of Lord Shiva.