At least 16 people were killed and 25 were injured after a bus and a truck collided on a highway between Amrapara and Littipara in Pakur district of Jharkhand on Wednesday morning, police said.
Pakur superintendent of Police Hrudeep P Janardhanan said: “It was a head-on collision between the truck and the bus which occurred near Kamardiha village under Amrapada Police Station. The bus was carrying passengers from the Barharwa area to Dumka when the accident occurred. As of now it seems the accident occurred due to low visibility. The driver of the truck has survived…We have referred some of the injured to Dumka and nearby districts.”
Pakur deputy commissioner Varun Ranjan said; “The truck carried more than 2000 gas cylinders (meant for domestic use). After the collision, the front portion of the bus was badly damaged and the driver’s body was mutilated due to the impact. Some people were stuck in the bus. We had to call in the fire brigade to get the bodies out. Fortunately, there was no leakage.”
Initially, the casualty was eight and the passengers were shifted to Amrapara Block’s Community Health Center, later, the number of deceased rose to 16, police said.
DC Ranjan said: “Most of the injured are out of danger. Four have been referred to Dumka district hospital and they are under observation.”
The incident occurred around 8 am and the collision occurred possibly due to low visibility, according to the police. Authorities said that the impact had damaged the bus more as around one-fourth of the body of the bus was ‘completely damaged’.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren condoled the deaths and directed the district administration to ensure proper treatment of the injured persons.
“May God give peace to the departed souls and give strength to the bereaved families to bear the loss. Appropriate instructions have been given to the district administration to provide proper treatment to the injured,” the CM said in a tweet in Hindi.
Ranjan said that the CM has announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to the next of the kin of the deceased.
Ranjan said: “We will be giving compensation to the next of the kin of the deceased. The passengers included farmers, para teachers, and a few minors. We are working on road safety because as of now the reason for the accident seems to be low visibility.”
He added that people belonged from the nearby districts of Sahebganj, Dumka, Deoghar and one was from West Bengal.