34 dead in HP bus mishap

Dharamsala: Thirty four passengers, including 13 women and six children, were killed and 31 others injured when an over-crowded bus rolled down a gorge near Haripur Guler in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district today.

While 18 died on the spot, others succumbed to their injuries in various hospitals in the district, the deputy commissioner, Mr R.S. Gupta, said.

There were about 70 people on board the bus and a few had been sitting on top of it when tragedy struck. The government has ordered a magisterial enquiry into the mishap.

The accident occurred around 10 am as driver lost control over the vehicle while negotiating a turn. The private bus fell into a 100-feet deep gorge from a bridge on Baner Khud. The bodies were recovered from the mangled remains of the ill-fated bus, he said.

According to eyewitnesses, the 32-seater bus was jam-packed as many boarded it at Guler railway station.

The injured were admitted to Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College and various government hospitals at Dehra, the DC said.

It was teachers and students from a nearby school who reached the spot first and started rescue work.