A bus carrying more than 60 passengers fell off a bridge in Bihar’s Sitamarhi district on Saturday evening, killing at least 14 people and injuring 46 passengers, the The Times of India reported. The vehicle landed upside down in a dry canal, which is a tributary of the Bagmati river.
The accident occurred on National Highway 77 near Bhanaspatti village in the district’s Runni Saidpur area, about 130 kilometres north of Capital city Patna. The bus was on its way from Muzaffarpur to the town of Aurai in Sant Ravidas Nagar district.
Of the injured, 34 were admitted to the primary health centre in Runni Saidpur while 12 were taken to the Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital in Muzaffarpur, the Hindustan Times reported.
Some of the injured passengers told the police that the bus fell from the bridge while attempting to overtake a vehicle, Sitamarhi Superintendent of Police Hariprasath S said. The driver was reportedly a novice, who was at the wheels of the bus for the first time, the police said. A private operator owned the bus, which used to travel the Muzaffarpur-Aurai route twice a day.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh for the kin of the victims. Those injured will receive free treatment, the district administration said.
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