Now Reading: 7 killed as bus plunges into gorge in Himachal’s Chamba
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7 killed as bus plunges into gorge in Himachal’s Chamba
Seven people were killed and 11 injured on Saturday when a private bus skidded off the Bairagarh-Tissa road near Chamba in Himachal Pradesh and fell 100 feet into a gorge. The bus,…
The Story in Brief
Seven people were killed and 11 injured on Saturday when a private bus skidded off the Bairagarh-Tissa road near Chamba in Himachal Pradesh and fell 100 feet into a gorge. The bus, operated by Sharma Travelers, had left Bairagarh at around 6.30 am and travelled barely three kilometres before the driver lost control on a curve, police said. The dead include driver Rup Singh and conductor Desraj, both local residents. Six critically injured passengers have been referred to the medical college in Chamba for specialised care.
Locals began rescue operations before authorities arrived. Police, Home Guards, NDRF, and fire services later joined the effort. The state has recorded 66 disaster-related deaths and 86 traffic fatalities between June 30 and August 8, with cumulative infrastructure losses estimated at Rs 834 crore. Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and President Droupadi Murmu have expressed condolences.
The Indian Opinion
Each monsoon, Himachal's mountain roads claim lives, and the chorus blames private operators, reckless drivers, and overcrowding. That is convenient. The Bairagarh-Tissa stretch is notoriously accident-prone, yet neither the state transport department nor the PWD has made it safer. Public bus frequency remains low, pushing people into private vehicles. The real test is whether the inquiry names specific road defects and whether the government fixes them before the next rainfall. How many more accidents will it take for permanent engineering solutions, not just statements of grief?
Sources (2): hindustantimes.com, assamtribune.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
