15 Injured As Bus Plunges 70 Feet Into Gorge

Mumbai:At least 15 people were injured after an overcrowded private bus from Bhind in Madhya Pradesh, heading towards Ratnagiri, plunged nearly 70 feet into a gorge at Amba Ghat in Maharashtra early Friday morning. All passengers had come from Nepal and were travelling to Ratnagiri to work in mango orchards.

According to police, the accident took place around 5 am at the curved bend of the Ratnagiri-Kolhapur highway in Amba Ghat. There were about 100 passengers in the bus.

“The bus was overcrowded, with nearly 100 passengers on board. The driver appears to have lost control at a sharp curve,” senior police inspector at Devrukh police station Uday Jhavare said.

The bus has been badly damaged by falling into the ditch. While there was no casualty, four to five people are reported to be in critical condition. The injured passengers have been sent to a nearby hospital for treatment, said police.

Teams from the Ratnagiri district police, along with local villagers and emergency responders, pulled passengers out of the damaged vehicle and shifted all injured persons to Ratnagiri Government Hospital.

Police are investigating the cause of the accident. The families of the victims are being informed about the accident, said police.