Jaisalmer: Two tourists from Gujarat died when their car collided head-on with a private bus on National Highway 68 near Surate ki Beri village in the Dhorimanna police station area Thursday night. Police said the crash occurred when the bus driver swerved to avoid a cow that suddenly appeared on the road, leading the vehicle to veer into the wrong lane.The tourists, identified as Ramesh (32) from Sogada in Tharad district, and Hitesh (34) from Palanpur, were travelling to Jaisalmer. Both were handicraft businessmen. Their Gujarat-registered Etios car was approaching from the opposite direction when the bus, heading from Barmer towards Gujarat, rammed into it. The front portion of the car was completely crushed due to the impact. Locals alerted the police after noticing the mangled vehicles. Dhorimanna police reached the spot, extracted the victims from the severely damaged car, and rushed them to Dhorimanna Hospital, where doctors declared both dead on arrival. The front of the bus also suffered damage, though no major injuries to bus passengers were reported. The severity of the crash caused a temporary traffic jam on the busy highway. Police removed the wreckage and restored vehicular movement soon after. According to Dhorimanna SHO Bagduram, both deceased were on a leisure trip to Jaisalmer. Preliminary investigation suggests the bus driver lost control while attempting to avoid hitting the animal, resulting in the fatal collision. Police have registered a case and initiated further investigation.
