The death toll in a an accident in which a bus skidded off the road and
plunged into the Beas river rose to 38, officials said Thursday. Seven
people were still critical.
Police officials said negligent driving
was the cause of the accident Wednesday, as the driver, who jumped off
the bus just before the bus plunged into the river, was on cellphone.
The 42-seater private bus carrying over
70 passengers was going to Ani town from Kullu when it fell into the
river near Jhari, some 20 km from here. The accident spot, known for
white water rafting, is 250 km from the state capital Shimla.
Rescue workers said rafters rescued 17
passengers trapped in the wreckage of the bus. Eyewitnesses said the
administration had a tough time in extricating the victims from the bus,
although villagers and private rafters started the rescue operations
before the authorities could reach the spot.
Meanwhile, the government has ordered a
magisterial probe into the accident. Kullu Deputy Commissioner Sharab
Negi told IANS that search operation is on along the banks of the river
as some of the passengers might have swept away.
Scarcity and low frequency of passenger buses in Himachal Pradesh often leads to overcrowding of transport vehicles.
0 comments:
Post a Comment