Seven killed, including six children, in bus accident in Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur; 12 others injured

Seven people were killed, including six schoolchildren, and 12 others injured on Saturday when a private school bus rolled down a deep gorge in Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur district. The accident occurred in Sangrah town on Saturday morning. A private bus carrying students of DAV school fell into a gorge. Seven people — six schoolchildren and the bus driver — were killed, Superintendent of Police, Sirmaur, Rohit Malpani said.

Four people — Samir (5), Adarsh (7), Kartik (14) and driver Ram Swaroop (40) — died on the spot. Abhishek, his sister Sanjana and Naitik Chauhan succumbed to their injuries at the Nahan Medical College, the SP said. Hindustan Times quoted Sirmour deputy commissioner Lalit Jain as saying that 14 children were injured and taken to a local hospital. However, a PTI report said that twelve people injured in the accident were hospitalised. The condition of some of them is critical, he said, adding more details are awaited. According to the Hindustan Times report, the accident seems to have occurred after the driver lost control while negotiating a curve. The report said, “Eyewitness say the stretch of road where mishap occurred sans crash barriers.” With inputs from agencies