Haridwar:
Five Kumbh pilgrims were killed and nine others injured when they were hit by an over speeding car carrying Naga Sadhus at Birla Ghat bridge area on Wednesday.
The accident took place when a procession of 'Joona Akhara' was moving towards Har-Ki-Pauri, the main bathing ghat, and the crowd lined up on the roadside to witness it was hit by the vehicle, SSP, Kumbh Mela, Ajay Rautela said.
He said five pilgrims, including three women and a girl, were killed and nine others injured in the accident. The identity of the deceased is yet to be established. The injured have been admitted to the Mela hospital.
Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the next of the kin of those killed.
Expressing grief over the incident, Nishank has asked the administration to provide best medical treatment to the injured.
During the fourth and last royal bath on the occasion of Mesh Sankranti on Wednesday, nearly 80 lakh pilgrims including Sadhus and seers belonging to various akharas have taken a dip in the Kumbh area, official sources said.
Various ghats of Haridwar and Rishikesh were seen flooded with pilgrims since last night.