33 die as Rajasthan bus falls into river
BHARATPUR: At least thirty-three people were killed on Saturday when a bus crashed through the railings of a bridge and fell into the Banas river in Rajasthan’s Sawai Madhopur, police said. Seven others were injured in the accident at Malarna Dungar, about 130 km from state capital Jaipur.
The victims were on their way to a Hindu temple, Ramdevji, at Malarna Chour on the Madhya Pradesh border when the accident occurred at about 7.30 am.
The driver was allegedly attempting to overtake another vehicle when he lost control of the vehicle, which plunged nearly 100 feet into the river. The driver, identified as Zakir (32) was among the dead, police said.
Official statistics show that one road accident takes place every four minutes in India, most of them due to rash or negligent driving including drink driving. Driver fatigue, poorly maintained roads and vehicles are also among the causes of such acci- dents which kill more than 110,000 people annually in the country.
Saw aiM ad hop ur superintendent of police Ma man Singh said thecauseof theaccident couldbe known only after an inquiry.
Rescue workers used gas-cutters to enter the bus though the windowsto retrieve bodies of the victims, who included women and children. By 1pm, 33 bodies were fished out and sent to the mortuary of the district hospital.
Eighteen victims have been identified, police said adding that 15 were from Sawai Madhopur, one from Dausa and two from Uttar Pradesh. Ten bodies were handed over to their families.
Ambulances were called in to rush the injured and bodies to hospitals, said district collector Kai lash Ch and V er ma who along with the superintendent of police reached the spot to oversee rescue operation.
All private hospitals were alerted to admit the injured. The bus was later retrieved from the river by a crane. Locals had also gathered at the site and helped in rescue operation.