Guwahati: At least 30 people are feared dead in Meghalaya after a passenger bus fell into a deep gorge in East Jaintia Hills district on Tuesday night.
The additional superintendent of police Lethindra Sangma, who was rushed to supervise the rescue operations said that a rescue team evacuated five people from gorge on Wednesday morning but most of them were in critical condition.
He feared that the chance of survival of any more passengers was slim owing to the depth of the gorge.
There were 35 occupants in the bus when accident took place.
The accident took place at about 9.45 pm near Sonapur Mandir, about 60 km from Khliehriat the district headquarters.
Poor connectivity has hampered the rescue team’s efforts, and has made it difficult to establish connection with the district headquarters for additional reinforcement.
The village defence parties from nearby areas have also been helping the rescue team.
“We have not been able to ascertain the cause of the accident. Our men are using ropes to climb down and trying to pull survivors and the bodies up,” district superintendent of police Spill Thamar said.
Police added that the region, close to Meghalaya’s border with Southern Assam’s Barrak Valley, was an accident-prone zone. On January 26 this year, 11 passengers were killed when a night bus skidded off the road and fell into a deep gorge at Tongseng village nearby.
Police said that incessant rain in the area has made their rescue operations more challenging.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep pain over the loss of lives in the bus mishap in Meghalaya and said his prayers are with the families of the deceased.
"Deeply pained by the loss of lives caused by a bus mishap in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills District," Modi tweeted.
Deeply pained by the loss of lives caused by a bus mishap in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills District: PM @narendramodi
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) June 15, 2016
"My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the deceased in this hour of grief," he said in another tweet.
