At least seven people died, while another 20 were reported injured after an Assam State Transport Corporation bus lost control and fell into a pond near Guwahati in Assam. The incident is reported to have happened on the road between Guwahati and Mukalmua, reported news agency ANI.
Latest reports according to News X state that seven bodies, three of which are women, have been recovered from the accident site after the first phase of rescue operations. 21 others with critical injuries have also been recovered and send to the hospital for treatment. The others have escaped the incident unhurt and were safely escorted through.
The injured have been rushed to the nearby hospital, while the kin and relatives of the deceased have been informed by the responsible authorities. Rescue operations are currently underway at the site of the incident.
Around 50 passengers were travelling on the bus when the accident occurred. the bus was on its way to Barpeta from Guwahati and was travelling through the Mukalmua area. It is also believed that several of those passengers are still trapped inside the bus. News X reported that apart from the police officials many local volunteers are also on the incident area and are helping with the rescue operations.
In a similar incident on Tuesday, 5 passengers were killed and 20 more injured when a bus fell into a canal from a bridge near Hooghly’s Haripal village. Among those dead two were men and the others were women. The bus was heading from Howrah from Arambagh with around 30 passengers in it when it dashed against the cement railings of the bridge and fell into the river.