The bus was travelling from Shimla to Kupvi via Rajgarh when it went off the road near Haripurdhar village and plunged nearly 500 feet into the gorge. 14 people have been killed and over 20 others injured after a private bus fell into a 500-feet deep gorge in Himachal Pradesh. The incident took place on Friday afternoon in the Sirmaur district.
The bus was travelling from Shimla to Kupvi via Rajgarh when it went off the road near Haripurdhar village and plunged nearly 500 feet into the gorge. The vehicle landed upside down at the site of the accident, which is approximately 95 kilometres from the district headquarters in Nahan. Officials said the private bus had a seating capacity of 39 passengers and was overloaded at the time of the crash. The exact number of passengers on board is yet to be confirmed.
Sangrah Sub-Divisional Magistrate Sunil Kayath, who is supervising the rescue efforts, said operations are being carried out on a war footing. He said that injured are being shifted to hospitals in Sangrah and Dadahu for treatment. Emergency teams, police personnel and district administration officials are present at the site, while locals joined hands to pull survivors out of the wreckage. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed deep sorrow over the tragedy. In a statement, he directed district authorities to extend all possible assistance to the families of the deceased and ensure proper medical care for those injured. Condolences were also expressed by BJP national president and Union Health Minister J P Nadda, Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, state BJP chief Rajiv Bindal, Shimla MP Suresh Kashyap and Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri.
Industry Minister and local MLA from the Shillai assembly segment, Harshwardhan Chauhan, said the district administration has been put on alert. He added that medical teams and doctors at hospitals in Dadahu, Sangrah and Nahan have been asked to remain prepared for emergencies. Videos circulating on social media show residents helping rescuers carry injured passengers up the steep slope. The cause of the accident is yet to be determined. However, locals at the spot suspect the driver may have lost control of the vehicle due to frost on the road, causing it to skid and fall into the gorge.
