Six dead, 44 injured in Himachal bus accident

Hamirpur, Aug 30 (UNI) At least six people were killed and 44 others injured, six of them seriously, when a bus in which they were traveling fell into a gorge in Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh early today.

The accident occurred at Bohni village, about eight km from here, after the driver failed to negotiate a sharp turn following which the bus, which was on its way to Kangra from Sarkaghat in Mandi district, fell into a gorge.

Three persons were killed on the spot, while two others succumbed to their injuries at the district hospital here. Another woman, identified as Reena, died on way to the PGI hospital at Chandigarh.

Hamirpur ADM Hira Singh Thakur, who visited the hospital, told reporters that the injured have been admitted to the district government hospital here, while five of the seriously injured have been referred to PGI hospital at Chandigarh.

He said the dead have been identified as Dewan Chand, Bikram Jaswal, Bhekh Raj, Reeta Devi and Sulochana Devi and their bodies have been sent for a post mortem examination, adding that the injured included 22 women and 22 males.

The locals, who rushed to the site, helped the police and home guard officials in pulling out the bodies from inside the mangled bus.

Mr Thakur said the district administration has announced an immediate relief of Rs 10,000 each to the next of the kin of the dead and Rs 15,000 each to the seriously injured, who have been referred to PGI.

The cause of the accident was, however, not immediately known, he said, adding that a case of rash and negligent driving has been registered against the bus driver.

Former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, Congress MLA Anita Verma and other senior district level leaders of various political parties visited the hospital and enquired about the health of the injured people.

UNI XC AS PS VD VV2000