Three killed, six injured as boulder falls on bus in HP

Shimla, Aug 7 (UNI) Three people were killed and six injured after a huge boulder fell on a bus in Kinnuar district of Himachal Pradesh early today, Kinnuar Deputy Commissioner M Sudha Devi said.

As soon as the bus conductor got down from the bus to remove a few big stones on the state highway, a huge boulder fell on the private bus at Lal Dhank, about 15 km from Rekong Peo, at 0530 hrs, she told UNI here.

Ms Sudha said the boulder fell just above the driver seat and killed three people, including the driver, identified as Virkam and two others identified as Keshav Ram, an ITI student, and Prabhu Dev, an ITBP driver.

The conductor of the bus, who also fell into the 200-feet gorge due to the impact, survived the accident, she said.

She said the injured have been admitted to a government hospital at Rekong Peo, adding that the district administration has announced an immediate cash relief of Rs 25,000 each to the next of the kin killed in the accident.

The Rekong Peo Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) Regional Manager also announced an immediate cash relief of Rs 10,000 each to the next of the kin of the dead and Rs 5,000 each to the injured, besides free medical treatment.

UNI