Bus Accident Kills 7 in Himachal Pradesh After Driver Loses Control of Vehicle, Over 20 Injured
The accident is reported to have taken place on the Theog- Hatkoti road, which is 42 km from Shimla.
Shimla, June 1: A Himachal Road Transport Corporation bus plunged off a mountain side after it skidded off the road and fell down a hill near Chhaila on Friday morning, informed the police. The injured were rushed to the Indira Gandhi Medical College in Shimla. According to reports, the bus was headed to Shimla and had left from Tikkar in Shimla district. The accident is reported to have taken place on the Theog- Hatkoti road, which is 42 km from Shimla.
A witness has told the police that the cause of accident is the driver losing control of the bus. The vehicle was descending a steep gradient or slope and that's when the driver's loss of control over the vehicle caused the deadly accident.
The rescue operation launched by the local administration had a hard time removing the body of the victims. People residing close to the accident spot, also chipped in to help and assist the rescue team.
On April 9, at least 27 school children were reported dead on Monday after a bus ferrying them fall into a gorge in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district. The accident was reported from Nurpur area in Kangra, where a private bus ferrying 40 school students skidded off the highway and plunged into a deep gorge. The rescue operation was initiated by the local police and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) after the accident was reported.
Talking about road accidents in India, the latest data available on 'Road Crash Statistics 2016' by SaveLIFE FOUNDATION reveal some startling figures. The data says that 17 people in India die every hour on Indian roads. 29 children die everyday on Indian roads. 13 lakh people have been killed in road crashes over the past decade. Rs 4.34 lakh crores is the cost to India that is caused due to road crashes every year. More Indians die in road accidents in India than anywhere in the world.
The key factors responsible for road crashes in India, according to the report are bad road- user behavior. The report mentions that a corrupt licensing system, driver training not being mandatory, and the fact that fatigue of drivers is not taken into consideration is blamed for high high accident numbers on the roads in India. A majority of drivers are also untrained which contributes to the high rate of accidents.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 01, 2018 01:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).