INDIA: 20 People Killed And 27 Injured As Two Buses Collide Near Gorakhpur

The Times of India

20 killed as two buses collide near Gorakhpur

written by Staff

Monday April 30, 2012

LUCKNOW: At least 20 people were killed and 27 injured when two buses fell into a ditch after a head-on collision near a bridge in Chiluataal area, 20km from Gorakhpur, on Sunday. Police said the accident took place when a Sonauli-bound state roadways bus collided with a private bus.

Chief ministerAkhilesh Yadav announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs 1 lakh to the kin of the deceased, Rs 25,000 to the critically-injured and Rs 10,000 to those with minor injuries. UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) has also announced interim relief to the bereaved families.

Transport ministerRaja Aridaman Singh later suspended additional regional transport officers A K Verma (Gorakhpur) and Anil Kumar Singh (Maharajganj) for their failure to check the private bus plying with reportedly double the capacity.

Gorakhpur SSP Ashutosh Kumar said that the UPSRTC bus was plying between Gorakhpur and Sonauli while the overloaded private bus was going to Gorakhpur from Sidharthnagar. The accident took place a little after the private bus crossed the Rohini river bridge near Maniram village.

The SSP said that the accident took place when the private bus tried to steer clear of a three-wheeler going ahead of it and in the process took a sharp right turn. In the meantime, the UPSRTC bus coming from the opposite direction rammed into it. Such was the impact of the collision that the state transport bus climbed on the front part of the private bus and its one-fourth part was shattered to bits.

The local residents who rushed to the site quickly started the rescue operation. Cops from the Chiluwa police station, too, reached there and stopped the vehicles passing by to carry the injured to the nearest hospitals. By the time the rescue work was complete, 18 bodies had been taken out from the mangled mess of steel and 29 injured hospitalised. Two of the critically-wounded later succumbed to their injuries at the hospital. Most of the victims were from Sonauli in Sidhartnagar, Gorakhpur and Maharajganj.

The Gorakhpur SSP said that the district hospitals had been directed to ensure the best possible treatment for the injured free of cost.