E-Paper
Driver dead, 39 injured after HRTC bus rams into retaining wall in Himachal’s Mandi
Driver of a Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus was killed and 39 passengers injured when the bus rammed into a retaining wall near Pandoh in Mandi district on Monday
The driver of a Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus was killed and 39 passengers injured when the vehicle rammed into a retaining wall near Pandoh in Mandi district on Monday afternoon.
The bus was on its way from Manali to Shimla, Mandi superintendent of police (SP) Shalini Agnihotri said. There were 40 passengers on board.
Police personnel, firefighters and home guard jawans rescued the victims.
The injured were admitted to Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College, Nerchowk.
The cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained. Initial reports said the driver lost control while negotiating a sharp curve after which the vehicle crashed into a retaining wall on the hillside.
CM meets victims
Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur visited the zonal hospital, Mandi, to enquire about the health of victims injured in the bus accident.
He interacted with all the injured persons and assured that the state government would provide them the best health care facility and wished them a speedy recovery.
Deputy commissioner Mandi Arindam Choudhary apprised that ₹2.50 lakh have been provided as immediate relief to the next of kin of deceased and injured people.
Bus catches fire in Chamba, close shave for passengers
In another incident, passengers had a close shave after the moving HRTC bus caught fire in Chamba district. The bus was on its way from Chamba to Langera, the last station in the Salooni subdivision along Jammu and Kashmir border. The incident took place near Sundla, about 25 km from Chamba.
The driver and conductor sounded an alert after seeing the smoke after which the passengers evacuated the vehicle. The bus was destroyed in the fire. No injuries have been reported in the incident, said the Chamba police.
