18 killed as bus falls into gorge

Eighteen people were today killed and 14 others injured, some of them seriously, when a bus rolled down in a 500 feet deep gorge in Sangrah Tehsil of Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh.

All the bodies have been recovered and injured persons have been admitted to hospitals at Solan and Rajgarh, Sirmaur SP, Sumedha Dwivedi, told PTI over phone from the spot.

The bus carrying 35 passengers was on its way from Punradhar to Solan when the mishap took place. The bus left Punradhar around 7.00 AM and the accident took place a few minutes later, the SP said.

A large number of villagers rushed to the accident spot and helped the local administration in rescue work. The injured were rushed to Solan and Rajgarh hospitals and a large number of victims were believed to be students studying in Solan and Rajgarh colleges.

The deceased are yet to be identified but most of them are from Punradhar and Surrounding villages, police said.