Bus accident in HP kills 22, injures 24

Shimla, May 2 (UNI) Twenty two people, including three women, were killed and 24 injured after a private bus plunged into a gorge in Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh early today, Shimla SP AP Singh said.

The accident occurred at Kupri Nullah, about 60 km from here, in Kotkhai area of the district at about 0730 hrs when the bus was on its way to Shimla from Kiari, he told UNI here.

Mr Singh said in all 22 people have been killed in the accident so far and added that the figure was likely to rise with the condition of several of the injured continuing to be critical.

While 18 people were killed at the spot and local hospitals in the area, four others succumbed to their injuries on way to Indira Medical College and Hospital (IGMC) here where the injured had been referred to after the accident, he said.

The cause of the accident was, however, not immediately known, he said.

However, police sources quoting witnesses and injured said they heard a loud sound from beneath the bus after which it fell into the 300-deep gorge.

Mr Singh said Kotkhai Tehsildar, officiating as Their SDM, DSP Ravinder Sharma and Kotkhai Naib Tehsildar D C Rangta along with a medical team had rushed to the accident site to supervise relief and rescue operations and provide medical aid to the injured.

Shimla Deputy Commissioner Tarun Kapoor said the district administration has announced an immediate relief of Rs 5,000 each to next of the kin of the dead and Rs 2,000 each to the injured.

State Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has also expressed grief and sorrow over the accident.

He also visited the IGMC and inquired about the condition of the injured who were undergoing treatment there.

Local legislator Rohit Thakur has also expressed grief over the accident and promised free medical treatment to the injured in the accident.

Meanwhile, Shimla Regional Transport Officer Vinod Gopal did not rule out the possibility of a mechanical failure and said the driver had over 10 years of experience and had never been associated with any accident in the past.

The Shimla Deputy Commissioner said three women, two people from Orissa and four Nepalis were among 22 killed in the accident. While the women have been identified as Archana, 42, Sandhya, 37, and Reeta, 38, the Oriyas have been identified as Pushan Pandey, 22 and Baliya, 35. He said others killed in the accident have been identified as Prem Bahadur, 42, Ramesh, 45, Randhir Chauhan, 68, Mohan Lal, 57, Sher Bahadur, 45, Panu Ram, 40, Vinod, 26, Karun, 26, Shtam Nand, Bhagwat Rishi, 24, Satpal, 40, Govind, 35, Naresh, 38, Vijya Nanda, 40 and Rajendar.

The identity of two others who died in the IGMC was yet to be identified, Mr Kapoor said.

He said the injured have been identified as Meena Ram, Rajdendra, Amit, Chetan, Shikha, Neena Mehta, Kaushalya, Sanjeeb, Madhu, Surender, Archana, Manmohan, Narender, Vijay Kumar, Prakash, Sudha Devi, Amar Singh, Vir Singh, Mukesh, Sher Singh and Subhadra.

A case has been registered and investigations are on, he added.

UNI