NAWADA/GOPALGANJ: Seven persons were killed and 55 others injured in separate bus accidents in Nawada and Gopalganj districts of Bihar today.
A bus, carrying mostly brick kiln labourers, overturned and tumbled into a ditch in Nawada district in the early hours today killing five persons and injuring 50 others.
Of the five persons who were killed, two were minors, the police said.
Twelve passengers, who sustained serious injuries, have been referred to Patna Medical College and Hospital, where their condition was stated to be serious.
The rest of the injured have been admitted to Rajauli sub-divisional hospital and Nawada Sadar hospital, he said.
Rajauli Police Station Officer-in-charge Awadhesh Kumar said the driver had lost control over the vehicle. He may have dozed off at the wheel, he added.
The accident occurred around 2 am on NH 31 near Andharbari village when the bus was on its way to Biharsharif, the district headquarter town of Nalanda, from Kolkata.
Most of the injured were labourers who were returning home due to closure of brink kilns in view of the monsoons, Kumar said.
All the victims were residents of Budhaul Beldariya village under Town Police Station of Nawada district. The identity of the deceased, however, has not been ascertained so far, he said.
In a separate accident, two persons were killed and five others injured when two buses carrying members of marriage parties collided with each other near a village in Gopalganj district, a police officer said.
The accident took place near Semraon village, killing two occupants of a bus on the spot and injuring five others, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Imtiyaz Ali said.
The victims have been identified as Prasann Yadav (55) and Ajit Kumar Singh (25), he said.
The injured were admitted to a hospital.
The drivers of both the vehicles escaped from the spot, Ali added.