3 Die, scores injured in Arunachal bus accident

Itanagar, May 22 (UNI) At least three people, including a woman died and more than 30 were injured, when a bus skidded off the road and fell into a 100-metre-deep gorge near Khupi in East Kameng district early this morning.

West Kameng district SP, Mr Paldan told UNI that the Sambala Express, the bus, was on the way to Seppa in East Kameng district from Tezpur in Assam's Sonitpur district.

The accident occurred at around 0200 hrs five km from the Zero Point on Seppa road, when the driver failed to negotiate a sharp bend due to heavy fog and continuous rain.

Mr Paldan said a rescue team from Seppa could not arrive at the spot as the road was blocked following a landslide near Bana.

However, on information from the East Kameng district administration, a police team from Bomdila in West Kameng district rushed to the spot and retrieved three bodies from the accident site, while 15 critically injured were shifted to Tezpur civil hospital.

The identities of the deceased were yet to be ascertained, the SP informed adding, the casualties might go up.

UNI UPB PL SV AS1134