Rudraprayag, Jun 27 (PTI) The body of another pilgrim was retrieved on Friday from the Alaknanda river as SDRF personnel on board a raft scoured its swirling waters in search of pilgrims who went missing after a 31-seater bus taking them to Badrinath fell into the river near Gholtir between Rudraprayag and Gauchar a day ago.
The toll in Thursday's accident has mounted to four now with this recovery, Rudraprayag Superintendent of Police Akshay Prahlad Konde said.
The fourth body retrieved on Friday was identified as that of 55-year-old Sanjay Soni, a resident of Udaipur in Rajasthan, he said.
The body will be handed over to his family members after necessary formalities, he added.
Three bodies were found on Thursday.
Eight people are still missing and search and rescue operation is on, the SP said.
Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman in Dehradun said the bus that plunged into the river has not been traced.
"With the river in spate and its water muddy, the bus has not been spotted yet. It may have been swept away by the strong currents of the river," he said.
However, six teams including SDRF, NDRF, ITBP, the police, a district team and fire brigade personnel are searching constantly, Suman said.
Member of an SDRF deep divers team said diving into the river is not possible at present because of its violent currents.
Searching for the bus or the missing is also difficult because of the muddy waters through which not much can be seen, he said.
Eight people including pilgrims and the driver who fell into the gorge while the bus was rolling down into the river were rescued and rushed to hospital on Thursday.
Four of them are being treated at the Rudraprayag district hospital and four others at AIIMS, Rishikesh, Suman said.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met the injured and their relatives at AIIMS, Rishikesh and assured them of all help from the government.
"We stand with the families of the victims of the accident with full sensitivity," he said.