Bus driven by ‘16-year-old’ lad falls into river; 33 dead
jaipur — At least 33 people, including four children, were killed and seven injured on Saturday when a bus plunged into the Banas river after veering off a 100-foot bridge in Rajasthan’s Sawai Madhopur district, police said.
The incident took place early morning in Soorwal police station area when the bus carrying about 45 passengers was on its way to Lalsot from Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan, they said.
The bus was driven by a 16-yearold conductor who lost control due to over-speeding, officials said. The bus skidded and fell off a bridge. According to witnesses, the bus was trying to overtake another vehicle on the narrow bridge.
All the injured were rushed to a nearby hospital, the police added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the incident and said his thoughts were with the families of the deceased. The “State government is closely monitoring the situation, including rescue operations and providing all possible assistance to those affected,” the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted.
Soorwal police station SHO Anoop Singh said of the 33 people killed, seven are women and four children. The injured were rushed to hospitals.
The bus driver was also killed in the incident, a police officer had said earlier. He said that 19 bodies were handed over to the kin of victims after post-mortem and autopsy of 14 bodies was yet to be conducted. One body is still unidentified, he added.
On reports that the bus driver was a minor, the SHO said it was yet to be ascertained.
Passengers were from Rajasthan and other states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Assam. Several of them were going to offer prayers at a temple in Malarna Chour in the district, the SP said.
Local television footage showed rescue workers in waist deep water pulling out bodies from the bus, which was half submerged in the river Banas some 160km from Jaipur.
“We have retrieved 33 bodies from the bus and shifted the injured to the hospital,” district magistrate Kailash Chand Vermasaid.
He said emergency workers equipped with steel cutters rushed to the scene of the accident to rescue those trapped inside the bus.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje expressed her condolences to the families of the victims. “I am saddened by the bus accident that took place in Dubi Banas. Took stock of the situation from the officials present on the spot and directed them to provide all possible assistance to the affected people,” she said in a tweet.
In a statement issues later, she said in-charge minister of the district Rajpal Singh Shekhawat was rushed to the spot to oversee the relief measures.
“I pray for peace for the departed souls and courage for the aggrieved family members to overcome the shock,” the chief minister said.
India has some of the world’s deadliest roads. More than 150,000 people are killed each year with most accidents blamed on poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving. — PTI, IANS, AFP