Tarn Taran: Four pilgrims were killed and at least 18 others injured on Saturday afternoon when two buses of the Punjab government's Mukh Mantri Teerth Yatra scheme collided near Naushera Pannuan in Tarn Taran district, according to early reports from the site. Both buses were carrying devotees to Sri Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar.

Source: Jugti, Nov 14, 2026

Police and Road Safety Force teams rushed to the spot and began rescue work, Senior Superintendent of Police Surendra Lamba said. Passers-by helped pull injured passengers from the damaged buses before ambulances arrived, and the injured were taken to Tarn Taran Civil Hospital.

Source: Daily Jagran (JNN), Nov 14, 2026

How the collision happened — early accounts differ

Both reports agree the crash was triggered when a motorcyclist crossing the highway came into the path of a pilgrimage bus near Naushera Pannuan and the bus braked suddenly. Accounts differ on the exact sequence that followed: one report says the Ferozepur-to-Amritsar bus swerved across the central divider on National Highway 54 at about 4 pm and hit an oncoming Teerth Yatra bus travelling from Harike to Amritsar head-on, while the other says a second bus following behind crashed into the braking bus from the rear. About 37 people were travelling in one of the buses, TV9 Punjabi reported. Police said an investigation into the exact cause, including whether speed or road conditions played a part, has begun — the final sequence will be settled by that inquiry.

Emergency at Tarn Taran Civil Hospital

Civil Surgeon Dr Sandeep Dhawan declared an emergency at Tarn Taran Civil Hospital and asked for as many ambulances as possible to be rushed to the crash site, and doctors were summoned to the emergency ward. The bodies of the four passengers killed were brought to the hospital. The rescue effort was hampered when three ambulances carrying injured passengers were caught in traffic jams on the way to hospital, the Jagran report said. The identities of those killed had not been formally released by the administration at the time of reporting, and officials said the casualty figures are based on early reports.

The pilgrimage scheme

Both buses belonged to the Mukh Mantri Teerth Yatra scheme, the state government's free pilgrimage programme that ferries devotees from villages and towns across Punjab to religious places including Sri Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar every week. Saturday's crash is among the worst accidents involving the scheme's buses. It comes days after a bus accident in Sangrur district in which three people were killed, adding to concern about road safety on Punjab's highways during the pilgrimage season.

Police said a case would be registered after the inquiry, and the district administration was coordinating help for the families of the dead and injured. The hospital said it would keep updating the condition of the injured through the night.