2 die, 16 injured as bus hits road parapet in HP

Two passengers died and 16 others were injured when a Himachal Road transport Corporation (HRTC) bus hit a parapet and went off the road near Nainikhud on Chamba-Pathankot national highway today, the police said.
The bus, with 55 passengers, was going from Bharmour to Dharamshala. After hitting the road parapet, the vehicle was trapped in a cluster of eucalyptus trees and did not fall into a gorge averting a major tragedy, they said.
DSP of Dalhousie Sagar Chander Sharma said on hearing the screams of the passengers, the locals and policemen from the nearby Tunnuhatti and Bakloh police posts reached the site and carried out relief and rescue operations.

Officials from Dalhousie and Chowari sub-divisional headquarters also reached the spot to take a stock of the situation.
The injured people, including the bus driver and the conductor, were rushed to a nearby hospital. Of them, the condition of nine was stated to be critical and have been referred to Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College Hospital in Tanda, the DSP said.
The bodies of the two deceased have been handed over to their family members after post-mortem, he said.
A case had been registered against the bus driver and investigation into the incident is underway, the DSP said.