At least five Kanwar pilgrims were killed and several others injured after the bus they were travelling in collided with a truck in Jharkhand's Deoghar district on Tuesday.
The accident occurred near the Jamuniya forest under the Mohanpur Police Station limits around 4.30 am when the Kanwariyas were on their way to the Basukinath temple.
The 32-seater bus collided with the truck loaded with cooking gas cylinders, leading the driver to lose control.
According to officials, the casualties may increase as the condition of several injured is serious.
The PTI news agency reported that five Kanwariyas were killed and 23 others injured in the accident. But BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who represents the Deoghar Lok Sabha constituency, claimed in a post on X that 18 people had lost their lives.
"In my Lok Sabha constituency of Deoghar, during the Kanwar Yatra in the month of Shravan, 18 devotees lost their lives due to a bus and truck accident,” Dubey tweeted.
Officials said the injured have been taken to various hospitals and nearby primary health centres, including the Saraiyahat PHC in Dumka.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren condoled the death of the Kanwaiyas and said the district administration is providing medical assistance to the injured.
"The district administration is providing medical assistance to the injured with relief and rescue operations. May Baba Baidyanath grant peace to the souls of the devotees who died in the accident and give strength to the bereaved families to bear this moment of grief," Soren wrote on X.