12 injured as bus falls into gorge in HP
DHARAMSHALA: Twelve people, including five women and three children, were injured when a Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus they were travelling in skidded off the road and plunged into a gorge near Chadhiar in Jaisinghpur sub-division of Kangra district.
The bus with 14 passengers was en route Jaisinghpur from Chadhiar. The incident took place on Saturday afternoon, 70 kilometers from district headquarters Dharamshala.
Kangra senior superintendent of police (SSP) Santosh Patial told that prima facie it seems that a mechanical fault led to the mishap. “Bus driver Pratap Singh, who is among the injured, in his statement to the police claimed that the vehicle went out of control due to the failure of break,” said Patial.
The driver said the steering of the bus also got locked before it plunged into the gorge.
Meanwhile, soon after the incident, locals rushed at the mishap site to help the injured while rescue teams were also dispatched from Palampur and Jaisinghpur.
All the injured were rushed to a community health centre, Jaisinghpur, and civil hospital, Palampur. Later, four grievously injured were referred to Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College in Tanda.
Police have registered a case of rash and negligent driving against the driver and begun the probe.