Seven Dead, 11 injured as bus falls in Chamera Dam

Chamba, Feb 21 (UNI) Seven persons, including two women, were killed and 11 others injured when a private bus broke apart after falling 500 ft on Chamera dam in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, official sources said here.

The driver Suresh Kumar (32) and conductor Bobby (26) were among those killed, Deputy Commissioner Pushpinder Rajput, who is overseeing the rescue operations, told UNI.

The bus, which apparently fell off the road, hit some concrete structure of the Chamera dam and broke apart. The occupants fell off into the waters of the dam, the DC said.

Of the seven deceased, six have been identified, including the driver and conductor. Others are Ms Kamla (45), Ms Chanchal (30), Khetri Lal (27) and Bihari Lal (50).

The DC has ordered an ex-gratia relief of Rs 10,000 to the families of the deceased, Rs 5000 for the injured and Rs 2000 for those who have sustained minor injuries.

The DC has ordered a Magisterial inquiry into the accident, the cause of which was not clear so bar . The probe will be headed by SDM Tissa, Rajiv Kumar.

The 11 injured passengers have been rescued by the relief and rescue teams and admitted in Primary Health Centre at Barangal, said the Chamba DSP (HQ), Arvind Chaudary, who was also present at the accident site.

The ill-fated private bus was on its way from Chamba to Barangal.

The exact number of people on board could not be ascertained but it was believed that there were 18 to 20 people in the bus, he said.

The rescue team of Chamera Dam, with motorboats and divers, was pressed into service immediately after the accident. The locals had also rushed to help out the accident victims, he said.

UNI