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At least 43 people are feared dead after a private bus rolled off the road and fell into Tons River in remote Nerwa area in Shimla district in Himachal Pradesh. The accident site is along the border of Shimla district and Sirmaur district. The number of deaths is feared to rise, police said.
The bus was on its way from Vikasnagar to Tiuni in Uttarakhand when the accident took place in the morning. It was taking a 121-kilometre route that passes through the Himachal Pradesh border. After receiving the information, Sirmour police launched rescue operations.
Over 50 passengers were said to be on board the bus.
The Uttarakhand government announced compensation of Rs 1 lakh for kin of those dead, Rs 50,000 for the severely injured and Rs 25,000 for the injured.
According to state police, of the confirmed deaths, 10 women and three young girls were included.
Naresh Chauhan, the only known survivor other than the conductor, claimed that one of the leaf springs of the bus snapped just prior to the accident.
"The driver and the conductor got down from the bus when the leaf spring broke down. After inspecting the leaf spring, they continued with the journey," he told police.
He said that at one point when the driver applied the brakes on a turn, the bus tilted.
Superintendent of Police DW Negi told reporters in Shimla that the conductor who fled the accident spot was later apprehended.
Eyewitnesses said the administration had a tough time extracting bodies of the victims from the mangled remains of the bus, though villagers began the rescue operation even before the authorities could reach the spot.
Rescue workers said the road where the accident occurred was badly damaged and there was no parapet to prevent the vehicle from rolling down.
State Disaster Response Force teams from Uttarakhand also reached the accident spot for relief and rescue operation.
(With inputs from IANS.)
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