44 killed as overloaded bus skids off Himachal Pradesh road into gorge

MANALI: In one of the worst bus tragedies in Himachal Pradesh, 44 people were killed and 29 others were grievously injured when a private bus with over 70 passengers on board fell into a gorge in Banjar sub-division of Kullu district on Thursday evening.
The bus (HP-66-7065), plying on the Kullu-Gadagushaini route, was a 42-seater vehicle, but it had over 70 passengers. There were unconfirmed reports of some passengers even travelling on the bus roof.After starting from Banjar bus stand, the vehicle had barely covered a distance of about 2km when it plunged into a gorge while negotiating the Bhiyoth Mor. The bus had freefall before scraping the mountain face and hurtled several hundred feet down to crash on the bank of Banjar nullah, a tributary of the Beas. A large number of accident victims were students of Government Degree College, Banjar on their way back home.

Locals and cops had a tough time locating and extricating the bodies from the wrecked vehicle as parts of the bus were strewn over a wide area.
In Himachal’s worst accident in recent times in August 2012, 51 people had died and 46 were injured when an overcrowded bus coming from Chamba town fell into a gorge near Rajera, 10 km away.
No crash barriers at bend from where bus fell in Kullu
Most of the injured were taken to a hospital at Banjar in ambulances and other vehicles Agency reports quoted additional SP of Kullu Rajkumar Chandel as saying that accident toll had touched 44, and that the injured were undergoing treatment at the Banjar Civil Hospital and the Kullu district hospital. Some of the severely injured passengers have been shifted to PGI Chandigarh Kullu superintendent of police Shalini Agnihotri said the injured included women and children and the condition of most of them was critical.
According to residents, all major roads of Banjar, especially Banjar-Gadagushaini and Banjar-Jalori pass, are in a bad condition. The spot from where the bus fell into gorge too is very dangerous and has no crash barriers. The roads in Banjar are narrow and steep and are very prone to accidents.
Till May 31, 2019, road accidents have claimed the lives of 430 people in the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted,"Deeply saddened by the bus accident in Kullu. Condolences to the families of those who lost their lives. I hope the injured recover soon. The Himachal Pradesh Government is providing all possible assistance that is required."
Vice-president Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and Congress president Rahul Gandhi too offered their condolences.
According to PTI report, Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the accident and asked the administration to provide best possible medical care to the injured passengers.