A total of eight passengers, including a two-year-old girl, died when a bus plunged off a bridge amid heavy rain in Bathida, Punjab province. The bridge did not have guardrails and the bus route was not interrupted.
Officials said the bus, carrying more than 45 people, was heading to Bathida from Taluadi Sambo. Residents of the area rushed to the scene in order to voluntarily help in the extrication and rescue of the occupants alongside the rescue cooperation.
STORY | Deeply saddened due to loss of lives in Punjab bus accident: President Murmu
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— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News)
The injured, more than twenty, were taken to a local hospital.
The police ordered an investigation into the causes of the accident.
“It is being investigated whether the heavy rain played a role in the loss of control by the bus driver,” said a spokesman for the authorities. According to the rescuers, the bus had developed a high speed and in his attempt to avoid another vehicle, the bus driver lost control.
In an atmosphere of grief over the loss of so many people, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, expressed his condolences to the families by announcing compensation from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.
l TRAGEDY STRIKES!
8 killed, 20+ injured in horrific bus accident in Bathinda. Bus crashes into drain, locals rush to rescue. Thoughts with the families of the victims.— Lokmat Times Nagpur (@LokmatTimes_ngp)
