8 killed, 21 injured in bus mishap

Eight persons were killed when a private bus carrying around 29 passengers fell into a 200-feet-deep gorge near village Panchad in Rajgarh sub-division, about 130 KM from here, police said today.
Eight persons have died and 21 other were injured in the mishap last evening, they said.
The ill-fated bus was on its way from Solan to village Habban via Chambi Dhar when the mishap occurred in the interior Chambidhar area.
All the injured passengers were rushed to the district hospital while six critically injured persons were referred to PGI Chandigarh and one to IGMC, Shimla.
The bus driver apparently lost control of the vehicle which rolled into a gorge, police said.

The rescue operations were hampered due to darkness and tough hilly terrain. Rescuers used torches, mobile phones and headlights of vehicles to spot passengers.

Five passengers were killed on the spot while two persons succumbed to their injuries on way to hospital and one person died in the hospital.
Deputy Commissioner Sirmour B C Badalia, Superintendent of Police Soumya Sambsivan alongwith a team of medical officers rushed to the spot and supervised the rescue work.
Additional District Commissioner Manmohan Singh said that the bodies of the residents of Himachal Pradesh have been handed over to their kin after post-mortem while family members of the deceased from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have been informed.

Badalia has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the accident and Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Rajgarh Preet Pal Singh has been asked to conduct the probe and submit the report within one month.
The district administration also disbursed immediate relief of Rs 20,000 to the next of the kin of each deceased.
The deceased were identified as conductor of the bus Akhil Kumar [24], a resident of village Katogra, Vidya Devi [55] of village Neri Kotli, Shakuntala [58] of Madhechie, Prabhu Ram [50] of Shillanji, Sadanand [48] of Badhoth, Sheela Devi [65] of Devthi , Sonu alias Murslin [30] of village Ladi Pur, district Saharanpur [Uttar Pradesh] and Roni Vishwas of Chapra [Bihar].