20 killed as bus plunges into Ganga in Bihar

Hajipur, May 11 (UNI) At least 20 people were killed when a packed Patna-bound bus broke off the iron fencing of the Mahatma Gandhi Setu bridge and plunged onto the river bed of Ganga in Vaishali District early today.

Vaishali District Magistrate Lalan Singh has confirmed 20 casualties, including the driver and the cleaner of the bus.

The 11 seriously injured were admitted to the Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH), while the rest were undergoing treatment at the local Sadar hospital, the DM said.

A team of doctors was rushed to Hajipur from PMCH to the accident spot, Mr Singh said.

The state transport bus was on its way to Patna from Raxaul when the driver lost control of the vehicle and the bus fell off the bridge breaking the fencing at 0330 hrs.

The reason behind the accident is yet to be ascertained, the DM said adding that a rescue operation was on.

The DMs of Motihari and Raxaul have been contacted to inform the relatives of the victims.

On hearing a loud sound people from nearby villages rushed to the accident spot and started the rescue operation. Later the police took charge of the situation.

Meanwhile, Bihar Road Construction Minister Nand Kishore Yadav admitted that the boundary wall of the bridge, which is the longest bridge in Asia, is weak and has developed cracks at some places in its pillars. He assured to take all necessary steps to repair the wall.

Identity of five deceased have been established. They are Rajesh Kumar, the driver, Kedar Gupta, the cleaner, Brajesh Kumar and Bharat Bhusan Gupta, both from Raxaul and Ram Pravesh Singh from Mora talab of Nalanda District.

The identity of the rest of the deceased were being established.

Meanwhile, State Transport Minister Ajit Kumar expressed grief over the accident and announced ex-gratia next of kin as per the rules.

UNI