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5 women among 8 dead as private bus falls into canal in Muktsar
Vehicle veers off road amid heavy rain, crashes into the railing of bridge before falling into water channel; 11 passengers rescued, say officials
At least eight persons, including five women, were killed after a private bus operator they were travelling skidded and fell into a canal in Muktsar district on Tuesday afternoon.
According to district authorities, 11 passengers were rescued and two of them were discharged after treatment from hospital by evening.
The deceased were identified as Parvinder Kaur (Bathinda), Preeto Kaur (Muktsar); Makhan Singh (Fazilka); Balwinder Singh (Faridkot); Amandeep Kaur (Faridkot); Rajvir Kaur (Fazilka); Manpreet Kaur and Raminder Singh, both from Sriganganagar.
At the time of filing the report, a rescue operation by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was underway.
Eyewitnesses said the bus crashed through the railing of a bridge and kept hanging in the air for almost an hour as the front potion of the bus was submerged in the Sirhind feeder canal.
District officials said it was raining heavily in Muktsar when the accident took place and the slush may have made the road slippery.
Owner of New Deep bus service, Hardeep Singh Dhillon, told a TV news channel that the bus was on its way to Kotkapura town in the adjoining district of Faridkot from Muktsar. It appeared that the driver lost control while trying to avoid hitting a car ahead of it on a bridge, he said.
Dhillon, a senior Akali leader, said both the driver and conductor have been rescued.
Muktsar deputy commissioner Ruhee Dugg said inputs suggest around 30-35 passengers were travelling in the bus at the time of the accident. While 11 were rescued and admitted to the hospital with minor injuries, the number of missing passengers is still not confirmed, she said.
“Several people managed to come out of the bus unhurt or with bruises who did not visit the hospital. A detailed investigation is underway to confirm how many people were onboard how many managed to came out. It would help us ascertain the exact number of missing persons. Helpline numbers have been issued to get a response from the affected families to ascertain untraced passengers,” she added.
Soon after the accident, district officials, including senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harmanbir Gill rushed to the spot. Gill said cranes were pressed into service to pull the bus out of the canal.
Local villagers and passersby swung into action to rescue passengers from the hanging bus.
State agriculture minister Gurmeet Khuddian also visited the site.
Assembly speaker Kultar Sandhwan, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), said the district administration has been directed to take all measures to rescue and provide medical assistance to the injured.
