U'khand govt to honour Haryana Roadways staff who saved Rishabh Pant's life: Dhami

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday announced that his government will on Republic Day honour the driver and operator of Haryana Roadways, who saved the life of star cricketer Rishabh Pant who met with an accident recently.

Talking to ANI, Dhami said, "Uttarakhand government will honour the driver and the operator of Haryana Roadways, who saved the life of cricketer Rishabh Pant on 26 January."

He added, "The driver and operator risked their lives to save the life of Rishabh Pant. The Cricketer's car rolled a couple of times in front of their eyes (after hitting a divider and going up in flames on the Delhi-Dehradun highway). The Haryana Roadways' staff proved their mettle as they tackled the emergency situation."

Rishabh Pant is undergoing treatment at a Uttarakhand hospital.

On December 30 around 5.30 am, Pant met with a serious accident while returning from Delhi to Roorkee to surprise his mother as his car collided with the divider on the Narsan border of Roorkee near Hammadpur Jhal on Friday.

The 25-year-old was alone in the car and suffered injuries on his back, forehead and leg.

According to photographs from the site, the car was burnt badly and Pant was at the wheel when he met with the accident.

Haridwar SP (Rural) Swapan Kishore said on Friday that Pant was admitted to the Max Hospital in Dehradun.

The cricketer narrowly escaped death after his high-end vehicle smashed into a road barrier. Pant escaped the near-fatal accident with burn injuries among others that will require plastic surgeries and he could be airlifted to Delhi if required, DDCA official has said. According to reports, he had dozed off on the wheel.

It was earlier reported that bus driver, Sushil Kumar, and conductor, Paramjeet, spotted an uncontrolled car ram over the divider near Gurukul Narsan.

They ran towards the car to help the passenger," said Panipat Bus Depot general manager K Jangra after Haryana government honoured them on December 30 for their service to humanity.

"As we dragged him (Rishabh Pant) out, the car caught fire and burned down within 5-7 seconds. He had major injuries on his back. We enquired about his personal information and that is when he said he is an Indian team cricketer," bus staff Paramjeet who rescued Cricketer Rishabh Pant said.

Dr Sushil Nagar of the Saksham Hospital, where Pant was admitted, toldearlier: "When he was admitted here, he was critical. But our team responded with quick treatment. We also did his X-Rays, there were no bone injuries rather a ligament injury in his right knee, which will become more clear after MRI reports."

Nagar also said: "There were two open wounds on his forehead and abrasions on his waist. There was nothing life-threatening. He was conscious and talking well. I asked him why he was driving at that point of time early morning. He said that he was going to pay a surprise visit to his mother."

( With inputs from ANI )