Three passengers die of suffocation inside a bus

Agartala, Oct 12 (UNI) At least three people, including a minor girl, died and five others fell ill due to suffocation in an inter-state bus, travelling from Guwahati to Agartala.

Police said here today that all the victims, below 20 years of age and migrant labourers from Jharkhand, had boarded the private bus at Guwahati.

The incident occurred yesterday at Kumarghat in North Tripura because of overloading of passengers in the bus.

Meanwhile, the bus driver and conductor had been arrested and the vehicle was seized, police said, adding that investigation was on.

All the eight passengers were shifted to the Kumarghat Primary Health Centre where three of them were declared dead.

Overloading of passengers and collection of excess fare in public transport vehicles is one of the major problems in the State.

Despite repeated demands of assuring passenger safety and comfort from various NGOs and citizen forums, the authorities have failed to address the issues since long.

UNI