At least 9 dead, 35 injured as bus overturns in Ranchi

At least nine people died and 35 were injured after a marriage party bus overturned near Pithoria valley, about 20 km from the Ranchi city, on Sunday afternoon, police said.

The injured were admitted to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) and Kanke General Hospital (KGH).

Five persons reportedly were killed on the spot while two died on way to Kanke hospital. Over 25 injured, some of them critically, were admitted to RIMS, doctors said.

More than 100 people, all going to attend a marriage ceremony, were packed inside a 52 seater school bus that was headed to Gegda village in Patratu from Nagri near Ranchi.

“While women and children were seated inside the bus, the male members were travelling on the rooftop of the bus,” said Roshni Toppo, 20, an injured passenger undergoing treatment at RIMS. She alleged that the driver was drunk so he lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a sharp turn in the valley.

Witnesses said that the bus hit the roadside railing after the driver lost control and it overturned. However, few of the passengers alleged that the driver switched off the ignition while the bus was down hill, which made the vacuum brake ineffective.

Earlier, the Pithoria police had stopped the bus during a vehicle checking drive because it was carrying passengers more than its capacity. Since it was a marriage occasion, police permitted the vehicle to go with a warning to drive carefully.

Pithoria police station in-charge Chunwa Oraon said, “The police reached the place immediately and took the passengers to nearby hospitals through ambulances and police vehicles.”

Meanwhile, chief minister Raghubar Das, announced ₹1 lakh ex-gratia to the next of kin of deceased and ₹20,000 to injured.

Road accidents cases are on rise in Jharkhand. According to the National Crime Bureau Records (NCRB) 2,893 people have died in road accidents in 2015 of the 5,162 cases registered during the year.