Himachal deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri has ordered a probe to ascertain the cause of the accident in Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur district which claimed 14 lives. Agnihotri, who visited the mishap spot late Friday night, said, “It does not seem to be an accident-prone spot. We will have to ascertain the cause of the accident to see if it was due to mechanical failure, overloading or any other reason.”
Apart from the 14 dead, 61 passengers were injured after a private bus plunged into a 100-metre-deep gorge near Haripurdhar in Sirmaur, around 95 kilometres from the district headquarters, Nahan. “This is a tragic incident and the government stands with the families of the victims. The administration took prompt action and locals also assisted in the relief work,” Agnihotri said.
Three of the injured have been referred to the PGIMER in Chandigarh from Nahan and two others have been referred to the IGMC, Shimla, from Solan.
Officials said that there were around 75 passengers in the bus when the mishap took place. Meanwhile, Sirmaur deputy commissioner Priyanka Verma said, “The investigation will be conducted to find out the cause of the accident and Sangrah SDM will submit the report.”
Sirmaur superintendent of police Nishchint Singh Negi said, “An FIR has been registered against the bus driver and an investigation is underway. The bus was carrying nearly double its capacity of around 39 passengers.”
{{/usCountry}}Sirmaur superintendent of police Nishchint Singh Negi said, “An FIR has been registered against the bus driver and an investigation is underway. The bus was carrying nearly double its capacity of around 39 passengers.”
{{/usCountry}}The cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained; however, locals suspect that the bus driver lost control of the vehicle due to frost accumulation on the road, and it skidded off. “The bus was speeding, and when the driver applied the brakes, the bus skidded off the road due to frost and fell down the hill,” one of the survivors told a local news channel. (With PTI inputs)