Written by: Express News Service
3 min readShimlaSep 12, 2012 12:52 AM IST
First published on: Sep 12, 2012 at 12:52 AM IST
The toll in the bus accident near Malli village on the Palampur-Ashapuri road rose to 35,with authorities recovering 19 more bodies on Tuesday,police said. An injured who was shifted to Dr Rajendra Prasad Medical College Hospital succumbed to injuries while 15 bodies were recovered from the spot late last night
The mishap took place when a Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus rolled 1,000 ft down into a deep gorge near the village,27 kms from Shimla,last evening.
A team of doctors conducted on-the-spot postmortem on 34 bodies,which were found scattered over a large area. Five injured,including conductor Sumir Kumar and two women,Vandana and Reshma,have been admitted to a hospital at Palampur and R P Government Medical College,Tanda (Kangra),Deputy Commissioner K R Bharti,who returned from the spot,said.
Vandana told the police that minutes before the accident,driver Baldeb Panwar had complained about some technical problem in the bus. “His seat slipped back and he lost control of the bus which was going overhill. The bus rolled back before falling in the gorge,” Vandana said. Panwar was among those killed in the accident.
“The bus was found torn apart and more than 20 bodies were scattered on steep,slippery slopes accessible only through ropes and most of the bodies recovered till late night had not been extricated from the wreckages of the ill-fated vehicle,” a resident of Malli village said.
The inhospitable weather conditions and hostile terrain coupled with darkness hampered relief and rescue operations and all the bodies were recovered this morning after night long rescue operations.
Besides,police and home guards,two Army rescue teams from Palampur and Yol Camp,equipped with long ropes and search lights,also joined the rescue operations and the bus in the gorge was sighted this morning only after the visibility improved.
The DC,SP,SDM,and teams of doctors with relief and rescue teams remained at the site throughout the night and supervised the rescue operations.
The DC announced immediate relief of Rs 20,000 to next of kin of the deceased and Rs 5,000 to each injured person. He also ordered a magisterial inquiry into the accident. Sub-divisional magistrate,Jaisinghpur,will conduct the inquiry and submit the report within 15 days.
Governor Urmila Singh and Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal expressed shock and grief over the accident.
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