24 killed in Himachal road accidents

Shimla, May 21: At least 24 people were killed in two road accidents in Himachal Pradesh, police said on Saturday.

In both the accidents, the vehicles in which the victims were travelling fell into gorges.

Kinnaur Superintendent of Police Khushal Sharma told IANS that 14 people were travelling in a Mahindra Bolero Camper vehicle when it fell into the gorge near Chota Kamba in Nichar tehsil of Kinnaur district on Friday night, killing 13 of them.

The victims were returning after dropping a newlywed woman to her marital house, he said. The lone survivor jumped out of the vehicle to escape death.

According to police, the vehicle was overloaded. Most victims belonged to Bada Kamba village, located near the accident spot.

In the second accident on Saturday, a Himachal Road Transport Corporation bus with 29 passengers fell into a 150-feet deep gorge near Bajroli bridge on the Sainj-Chopal road in Shimla district, killing 11 people and injuring 21 others, Sub-Divisional Magistrate M.R. Bhardwaj said.

The ill-fated bus was going from state capital Shimla to Tharoch in Chopal.

The victims included the bus conductor and the driver, who probably failed to negotiate a hairpin bend, an eyewitness said.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh visited the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital here to inquire about the well being of the injured.

Seventeen people, including three women, were killed and 23 others injured when a private bus carrying 50 passengers fell into a gorge in Chamba district on May 20.

The bus was on its way from Sanghni to Dalhousie when the accident occurred.

Leader of Opposition and BJP leader Prem Kumar Dhumal blamed the frequent road accidents on poor road condition.

IANS