Nine dead, 33 injured as mini bus overturns in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district

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A mini bus overturned near Sagran village of Hoshiarpur district on Monday, leaving nine people dead and 33 others injured, police said.

A car was also involved in the accident, they said.

Mukerian Deputy Superintendent of Police Kulwinder Singh Virk said the bus, with about 40 passengers, was on its way to Dasuya from Hajipur town when the accident occurred.

Police stated the driver is said to have lost control over the vehicle, though exact cause of the accident is under investigation.

The injured passengers were admitted to Dasuya Civil Hospital for treatment.

On receiving information, Hoshiarpur Deputy Commissioner Aashika Jain and Senior Superintendent of Police Sandeep Kumar Malik reached Dasuya to oversee the rescue and relief operations.

DC Jain said the government would provide an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to those seriously injured. The government will also bear the complete medical expenses of the injured, she added.

"At the accident site, an Alto car and the mini bus were found damaged. An investigation is underway to ascertain whether the accident occurred due to overspeeding, overloading or a technical fault. Further action will be taken based on the probe findings," SSP Malik said.

The deceased have been identified as Raju Bala (5) and Meena (30), both of Budhabaar village; Love Kumar (50) of Kangra district (Himachal Pradesh); Gurmit Ram (65) of Haler village; Satwinder Kaur (55) of Jalal Chak village; Balbir Kaur (60) of Dasuya; Sanjeev Kumar (30) of Gurdaspur district; and Subag Rani (55) of Sahora village, said Dr Manmohan Singh, civil hospital's senior medical officer.

One person's identity, a man aged about 50, is yet to be established, he said.

Of the 33 people admitted to the hospital, three critically injured Raj Rani (55) of Sahora, Sanjeev Singh (45) of Chakraal and Khushi Mehta (22) were referred to higher medical centres, Dr Singh said.

Six people were discharged after being administered first aid, while the condition of the remaining 24 injured was stable, he added.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann expressed grief over the incident.