Dausa (Rajasthan) [India], July 1 : At least two passengers were killed and 19 others injured after a private bus travelling from Haridwar to Indore collided with a trailer and plunged into a roadside gorge on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Rajasthan's Dausa district in the early hours of Wednesday, police said.
The accident occurred near the rest area under the Kolwa police station limits at around 2-3 am. According to police, the bus lost control after hitting the trailer and fell into a gorge. A fire also broke out in the rear portion of the bus shortly after the crash, triggering panic among the passengers.
Most of the passengers were asleep when the accident occurred. Eyewitnesses said the impact of the collision was so severe that passengers sleeping on the upper berths were thrown down, leaving several of them seriously injured. Women and children were also among the injured.
On receiving information, police, ambulance services and rescue teams rushed to the spot. With the help of local residents, rescue personnel evacuated the injured passengers from the bus and shifted them to the District Hospital in Dausa. Some passengers managed to escape from the bus on their own before the fire spread.
The injured are undergoing treatment at the district hospital, while several critically injured passengers have been referred to higher medical centres for advanced treatment.
Additional Superintendent of Police Yogendra Faujdar, Deputy Superintendent of Police Dharmendra Kumar, Kotwali Station House Officer Bhagwan Sahay Sharma, Sub-Divisional Officer Sanju Meena and Tehsildar Gajanan Meena visited the district hospital to review the treatment of the injured and directed doctors to ensure proper medical care.
Eyewitness Anita Soni, who was travelling on the bus, said: "Most passengers were in deep sleep when the accident took place, leaving them with little time to react."
Police have seized the bus and the trailer and launched an investigation into the incident. Preliminary findings suggest the bus went out of control after colliding with the trailer. Traffic on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway was also affected for some time following the accident.