As many as six persons lost their lives after a group of 14 individuals attempted to cross the Tons River on a tractor-trolley in the Vikasnagar tehsil of Uttarakhand’s Dehradun. The tragic incident involved residents from the Moradabad and Sambhal districts of Uttar Pradesh.
The tractor-trolley was swept away by the strong river current, resulting in the fatalities. Six persons remain missing and rescue operations are currently underway to locate them.
Two persons, residents of Moradabad, survived the incident with injuries.
SDRF and NDRF teams launch rescue operation
All of the deceased are residents of Moradabad district and their bodies have been recovered with the help of the SDRF and NDRF teams.
The deceased include three women and three men, aged between 22 and 60. Local administration and disaster response teams acted promptly to retrieve the bodies and coordinate with their families.
Among those unaccounted for are four women and two men, including two young women from the Sambhal district.
Administrative teams from both Moradabad and Dehradun are in constant contact, and the Moradabad district administration has been stationed in the affected village to support grieving families. The District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) in Moradabad is actively monitoring the situation in collaboration with their counterparts in Dehradun.
CM Yogi expresses grief, announces ex-gratia
UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed anguish over the incident. He also announced ex-gratia for the next of kin of the deceased.
"The loss of lives in the unfortunate accident that occurred in the Tons River in Dehradun district of Uttarakhand is extremely heartbreaking. My condolences are with the bereaved families. Instructions have been given to the officials to provide financial assistance of ₹2-2 lakh to the families of the residents of Uttar Pradesh who lost their lives in this incident and to ensure that each mortal remains is respectfully transported back home," he posted on X.
