Punjab: 15 killed, 48 injured as bus rams into tree near Behram toll plaza

At least 15 people were killed and around 48 injured in a road accident on Friday morning when a private bus carrying around 56 persons turned turtle and then rammed into a roadside tree near old Behram toll Plaza on Chandigarh-Phagwara main highway.

The victims could not be identified till the filing of this report. The driver of the bus has been identified as Jaswinder Singh. The accident took place after 9:00 am when a private bus of Onkar Bus Service was coming back from Nawanshahr to Jalandhar.

The front portion of the bus was totally mangled and half of the bus roof was uprooted by the tree. Police and passersby struggled to bring the victims out of the bus. Even the backside glass of the bus was cut and the seats from the front were uprooted to make a passage to bring the injured out, said DSP Saravjit Singh.

Among the 42 injured, 10 are in a serious condition. One of the survivors, Raman Kumar, recalled that all of sudden he felt that bus went out of control before it overturned.

The police reached the spot within minutes and rushed the victims to the Charitable hospital few kilometers away from the spot. “We stopped the other vehicles to rush the victims to hospital and also called up our villagers for help,” said a commuter.

Both Civil and police administration reached the spot. Families have started reaching the hospitals.

Saturday 13 June 2015

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/15-killed-48-injured-as-bus-rams-into-tree-in-behram/

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Electrical wire falls on Bus in India, at least 17 Dead

An electrical wire fell on a bus carrying people to a wedding in western India on Friday, killing at least 17, a local official said.

Government official Rekha Gupta said the bus was carrying more than 50 people to the wedding in Rajasthan state's Tonk district. The bride and bridegroom were not on board, he said.

At least 23 others were injured and taken to a hospital.

Few other details were immediately available.

India's power transmission infrastructure is often poorly maintained and electrical cables sometimes fall, electrocuting nearby people.

Saturday 12 June 2015

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/17-dead-electrical-wire-falls-bus-india-31715454

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India bus accident: 21 killed near Rajahmundry in Eastern India

A van packed with Hindu pilgrims early on Saturday swerved off a bridge and plunged into a river in southern India, killing 21 people including six children, officials said.

The accident happened when the van was returning from a pilgrimage to the famous Tirupati-Tirumala temple in Andhra Pradesh state and lost control on a bridge, killing all but a 12-year-old boy.

"The vehicle driver appeared to have lost control and hit a wall of the bridge and fell off into the Godavari River," the Press Trust of India news agency, quoted an unnamed police officer at the scene as saying.

"However, the water-level at the point of accident was very shallow," he added.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu expressed his grief on Twitter and promised that authorities were "providing all help possible".

"Deeply saddened about tragic death of 21 people travelling in a van after it fell off Dowleswaram bridge," Naidu said.

"The kid, a lone survivor, is undergoing treatment."

India has some of the world's deadliest roads, with more than 200,000 fatalities annually, according to the WHO.

Transport analysts attribute the huge number of accidents to poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.

Saturday 13 June 2015

http://www.ibtimes.com/india-bus-crash-21-feared-dead-2-injured-near-rajahmundry-eastern-india-1965540

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Taplejung landslide toll hits 35; 22 still unaccounted for

The death toll from Wednesday’s massive landslides in Taplejung district has climbed to 35. Twenty-two others remain still unaccounted for since the disaster.

Multiple landslips triggered by incessant rainfall swept away a number of settlements in Thinglabu, Liwang, Lingtep, Khokling and Santhakra VDCs on Wednesday night.

Rescuers took out five bodies of a family from the debris in Thinglabu. Similarly, bodies of three siblings, including a three-month baby girl, were recovered in Liwang.

Personnel from Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force deployed in the affected area have rescued 13 people from Lyamlyam in Liwang. The victims were trapped in landslides there. Chief District Officer Damaru Prasad Niraula said the rescued have been settled at a safe place in Khogling.

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Shantiraj Koirala, 27 bodies were handed over to the families.

The local administration said the security personnel reached the affected area and rescued the victims. The rescuers reached the worst-hit area on foot.

An NA helicopter that reached the district, however, returned to the Capital due to some technical glitches in its engine. CDO Niraula said they requested the Home Ministry to send a bigger chopper to aid the rescue efforts.

Eight people, who sustained serious injuries in the landslides, had been airlifted by the Army. One of them is receiving treatment at Taplejung

District Hospital while the seven others were taken to the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences in Dharan.

Meanwhile, the local people have urged the Water-induced Disaster Management Committee to relocate the displaced from Dobhan Bazaar. The residents there are at a high risk as the flooded Mewa river has been eroding the embankment there. A lot of damage was caused downstream as the river blocked for about half an hour burst the dam created by a landslide.

Saturday 13 June 2015

http://www.ekantipur.com/2015/06/12/top-story/taplejung-landslide-toll-hits-35-22-still-unaccounted-for/406502.html

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