9 dead, 51 injured as bus falls into river in Himachal Pradesh

At least nine people were killed and 25 injured when an overspeeding bus they were travelling in fell from a bridge into a river in Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur district on Saturday, police said.

The accident took place near Khadri village on the Renuka-Dadahu-Nahan road, about 168 km south of Shimla, at around 4.30 pm.

The private bus was on its way from Renuka Ji to Nahan when the driver lost control, broke the railing of the Jalal bridge and fell 40-feet down into the Jalal river, said senior police official Virender Singh Thakur.

Four passengers, including three women, died on the spot, while five critically-injured persons succumbed to their injuries in a hospital. Twenty-five people are under treatment in the Nahan medical college and Dadahu sub-divisional hospital, the officer said.

Mr Thakur, who reached the spot and supervised the rescue operation, said prima facie the accident happened due to the negligence of the bus driver. According to eyewitnesses, the bus was overspeeding when it was crossing the bridge.

The process is on to identify the deceased, most of whom are local residents, the officer said, adding that the police had started an investigation.

Another bus, carrying people from Delhi, fell into a gorge in Himachal Pradesh's Solan district today, injuring 21.