Siblings' miraculous escape in Himachal bus tragedy

Bilaspur/Shimla, Oct 10 (PTI) Two siblings had a miraculous escape from the Bilaspur landslide on Tuesday, primarily because they moved to the last row of the half-empty bus to play, minutes before tragedy struck.

The landslide completely crushed the front portion of the bus, killing 16 passengers who were trapped under the debris. Arushi (10) and Shaurya (8), who were the lone survivors of the joint family onboard the bus, were rescued from the rear exit.

The bus was travelling on the Marotan-Ghumarwin route in Himachal Pradesh's Bilaspur when tragedy struck on Tuesday evening in Bhalughat area near Berthin. The siblings lost their mother Kamlesh, aunt Anjana, and two cousins Naksh and Aarav. Vipin, Anjana's husband, who lost his wife and both children, had already reached home.

His brother, Raj Kumar, lost his wife in the tragedy but his son and daughter survived. Shaurya lit the funeral pyre of his four deceased family members on Wednesday.

The kids were rescued from under two different seats buried under debris on the rear end of the bus. Their escape was nothing short of a miracle, said a local who witnessed the landslide hit the fated bus on Tuesday dusk.

The siblings were getting bored of looking outside the windows as there was nothing to see in the dark and moved to the last row to play, their relatives said, expressing astonishment at the marvellous escape while they still grappled with the loss of other family members.

"We could not believe that two children covered under the dust were alive," witnesses said.

Arushi suffered minor leg injuries, while Shaurya was rescued unhurt. Both were sent home from AIIMS Bilaspur on Wednesday morning. The siblings would now be under the care of the joint family.

Anjana had gone to her parent's village for some function and her parents had offered to drop her by car, but she insisted on returning by bus, distraught relatives recalled.

The family would get a compensation amount of Rs 16 lakhs (Rs 4 lakh for each deceased) as announced by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund to the next of kin of each deceased. PTI COR BPL ARB SKY SKY