CHANDIGARH: At least seven passengers were killed and 11 others injured when a private bus skidded off the road, overturned and plunged onto a road below in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh on Friday.
The accident took place when the bus was on its way from Bairagarh to Chamba near Chalunj Mor (curve) on the Bairagarh Tissa road, a treacherous 27 kilometre mountain route in the remote Churah Valley known for its narrow paths and steep drop offs.
The stretch serves as a key route to the high-altitude Sach Pass. The bus skidded off the road and fell onto a road below at Chalunj in the Churah subdivision of Chamba district.
According to preliminary information, there were approximately 20 to 25 passengers on board the bus at the time of the mishap.
Several passengers were trapped beneath the overturned bus, and locals in the area began rescue operations even before the rescue teams and district administration reached the spot.
However, rescue operations gained momentum with the arrival of the police and rescue teams, and efforts were made to extricate those trapped.
Backhoe loaders were also deployed to lift the bus and rescue passengers from underneath the wreckage. The identities of the deceased and the exact number of injured were yet to be ascertained.
The injured have been shifted to nearby health facilities. The casualty count could rise as many people were stated to be in serious condition.
Most of the victims were locals and were travelling to Chamba town. The dead included the driver and the conductor.
The bus had travelled only three kilometres when, near the Chalunj turn, the driver lost control and the bus skidded off the road before landing on the road below. Eyewitnesses told the police that the driver lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a turn, causing the bus to roll down.
Superintendent of Police, Chamba, Vijay Saklani said that the exact number of people on the bus was not yet known and added that the cause of the accident was yet to be ascertained and the police would investigate the circumstances.
Expressing grief over the accident, Churah MLA Hans Raj described the accident near Chalunj as extremely painful, expressed condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.
