1 dies, 3 hurt as bus comes in contact with 11,000-volt wire

DUMKA: A contractor died and three passengers sustained injuries when a passenger bus caught fire after it came into contact with a high tension electric wire near Amrapara under Pakur district on Saturday.
Pakur superintendent of police Shailendra Burnwal said, "The Dumka bound passenger bus - Pagla Baba - which was overloaded with passengers, with a few of them sitting on its top, came into the contact with a live electric wire of 11,000 volts near Pokhariya village while crossing a bumper." "Apart from passengers, there were bicycles and other iron items on the roof," he added.
A passenger said, "The ones who who were sitting inside the bus made a run for it right after the bus caught fire and the ones who sat on top of the bus jumped off the vehicle." He added that some of the passengers also received burned injuries while they were trying to run for safety.
Burnwal also said the incident was caused due to negligence by both the bus driver and the electricity authorities. "The bus driver neglected to see that the bus was overloaded with passengers and the electricity authorities did not fix the electric transmission wires even when they were in dire need of attention."
"Suitable legal action will be taken against those responsible for overlooking the norms," he added.
The deceased has been identified as Nimay Dey and he was a native of Basukinath under Jarmundi police station of Dumka district.
Those who were were taken to an Amrapara-based primary health centre. But few others were referred to other hospitals.