Thaindian News

Yamunanagar (Haryana), April 28 (IANS) Eight management students and two teachers were among the 12 people killed when a college bus collided head-on with an over-loaded truck near near this town, police said Thursday.

At least 29 people were also injured in the accident. Of the 29, 15 are in serious condition. Three of them have been shifted to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh.

The students were of the Sri Ram Institute of Management and Technology in Yamunanagar, about 110 km from state capital Chandigarh.

Police said both the vehicles were speeding when they collided on a sharp turn on national highway number 73-A, near Manakpur village in Chachrauli sub-division of this district.

One of the front tyres of the truck, which was over-loaded with sand, got punctured and the driver failed to keep the vehicle in balance. It smashed on to the bus, coming from the other side, and dragged it for over 25-feet before the bus overturned.

Both the vehicles were badly damaged and rescuers faced major difficulty in bringing out the bodies and injured people from the tangled remains of the bus.

The deceased included eight students, in the age group of 20 to 23 years, two institute’s lecturers and two drivers.

Mahesh Sharma, chairman of Sri Ram Institute of Management and Technology, said, “This is a very unfortunate incident. Around 41 persons, including 27 students, 12 staff members, one driver and a conductor, were on their way towards the college when the accident occurred. The accident spot is around 15 km away from the college.”

Officials said the death toll could rise.

Initial rescue work was carried out by people working in the neighbouring fields. They evacuated the trapped people from the bus. The injured were taken to hospitals in taxis and a private bus. Eyewitnesses said several people in the bus had died instantly.

“There were over 40 students and teachers in the bus. There was a big sound and the impact of the collision was so strong that it was difficult to recognise the bus after the accident. We immediately rushed to the spot and helped the injured people,” said Manmeet Singh, an eyewitness.

Mahesh Kadian, another eyewitness and rescuer, said, “It was a horrible sight with blood all around. The bus driver’s body was cut into three pieces and many people had died on the spot.”

Police said 15 of the 29 students injured were in a serious condition and were admitted in three different hospitals in Yamunanagar and Jagadhari towns.

“Eight bodies were taken to the civil hospital here while four had been taken to another hospital. After the post-mortem, bodies have been handed over to the family members of the deceased. Most of the deceased were locals and lived in nearby places. But the truck driver belonged to Rohtak district,” investigating officer Rajinder Kumar told IANS.

“The death toll can also go up. It is very difficult to say anything at this moment as we are still gathering information about the injured persons. Three of the injured were also sent to PGIMER in very serious condition. We have registered a case and have started our investigations,” stated Kumar.

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda cancelled his engagements and rushed to Yamunanagar. He expressed grief over the incident and visited the Yamunanagar civil hospital and two private hospitals here where the injured were admitted.

Haryana government has announced Rs.100,000 to the next of kin of each deceased, Rs. 25,000 to each seriously injured and Rs.10,000 each for the other injured people.

Hooda appealed to the people to maintain peace and support the bereaved families.

The deceased were identified as Priyanka, Uma Dhiman, Harwinder Kaur, Sunita Pal, Deepika, Gagandeep Singh, Rinki Mittal, Jitender, Neha Narula, Ketika Madan, Joginder Singh, all of them residents of various towns in Yamunanagar district. Whereas the deceased truck driver Satish Kumar was resident of a village in Rohtak district.

In the meantime, Hooda has also directed the district administration to regulate the heavy vehicles during the peak traffic hours.