20 feared dead as Delhi-bound bus skids off highway in Bihar
At least 20 people on board a Delhi-bound bus were killed when the vehicle skidded off a highway in Bihar's East Champaran district, fell into a deep pit and caught fire, state minister Dinesh Chandra Yadav said on Thursday.
The incident took place around 5 pm on NH-28 near Belwa village under Kotwa police station area, about 30 kilometres from Motihari, the district headquarters.
Yadav, who is the disaster management department minister, said at least 20 people were killed when the bus skidded off a highway, fell into a deep pit and caught fire.
Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi tweeted, "Very saddened by news of bus accident in Champaran in Bihar. Casualty may go up to 24 or more."
According to Deputy Superintendent of Police (Sadar) Murli Manohar Manjhi, 11 people were undergoing treatment at hospitals for injuries sustained in the incident.
He said some of the survivors had managed to come out of the bus by smashing the windows while others were rescued by locals.
They were being treated for injuries at a hospital, the officials, who were supervising rescue work at the spot, said.
Officials claimed they found nothing to suggest that any person was trapped inside the bus when it went up in flames.
The bus has been completely charred. If anyone was trapped inside could be ascertained only after special equipment is brought in to cut through it, Principal Secretary, Disaster Management, Pratyay Amrit said.
However, Manjhi, as also East Champaran SP Upendra Kumar Sharma said not a single body was recovered from the spot and that while the bus was engulfed in flames, there was no smell of charred flesh.
Some of the surviving passengers told regional news channels that "only 13 passengers, besides the driver and a helper", were inside the vehicle when the incident took place.
They said 32 passengers had booked their seats in the private bus, out of whom only 13 had boarded at Muzaffarpur and the remaining were likely to catch the vehicle at Gopalganj.
The private air-conditioned bus had begun its journey at Muzaffarpur, about 85 km from Motihari.
CM Nitish Kumar expressed grief over the incident and observed a minute's silence as the news reached him in Patna at a function organised to launch various schemes of the transport department.
Kumar said he was "pained by the irony" that the news of the incident was received by him at a function held by the department concerned with road safety.
Kumar was also quoted in an official release as having ordered expeditious payment of ex-gratia to the next of kin of the deceased and proper treatment of the injured. PTI
