Himachal deputy CM orders probe into Sirmaur bus accident that claimed 14 lives

Nahan (HP), Jan 10 (PTI) A day after 14 people died in a bus accident in Himachal's Sirmaur district, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri ordered a probe to ascertain the cause.

The administration has acted promptly in the entire matter, and the injured are undergoing treatment in different hospitals, said Agnihotri, who holds the transport portfolio.

A magisterial inquiry has been ordered, and a committee headed by Sangrah sub-divisional magistrate would submit its report in 15 days, officials said.

The accident occurred on Friday afternoon, when an overloaded private bus, surpassing its seating capacity of 39, veered off the road on its way to Kupvi from Shimla, and fell into a 500-foot deep gorge.

It landed upside down near Haripurdhar village, about 95 kilometres from the district headquarters, Nahan. Besides 14 casualties, which included eight women, about 61 people sustained injuries in the accident.

There were about 75 people in the bus, far higher than its seating capacity. A large number of passengers were en route to their native villages to celebrate Boda Tyohar — the biggest annual festival of the three lakh Hati tribes of Sirmaur district, which commenced on Friday.

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, Divanshi, told a local channel. She was going to Haripurdhar town in the district along with her mother.

The injured are undergoing treatment in several hospitals, including Rajgarh Government Hospital, Nahan Medical College, Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, while those with serious injuries have been referred to PGI Chandigarh, officials said. PTI COR BPL AMJ AMJ