At least 15 passengers were killed while 42 were injured after an over speeding bus turned turtle on Friday morning and hit a tree.
The bus, belonged to Onkar Travels, was on its way to Jalandhar from Nawanshahr with over 60 passengers, and met with an accident at around 9.05 am moments after it took passengers from Behram, on Phgawara-Chandigarh state highway.
According to injured passengers, the bus was overtaking a tractor trolley near a curve when the driver lost his control and it turned turtle and then it hit a tree.
Though passers-by and workers, working at a shrine on the road, rushed to help the passengers, they found it difficult to take them out as bus had turned turtle and passengers had fallen on the side which was at the bottom. Police also reached within in a couple of minutes and started rescue.
The impact of the collision was so much that the tree in which it rammed was almost in the middle of the bus after chopping off its roof.
Banga DSP Sarabjit Singh said that the police and people removed front seats of the bus and took out four passengers alive. “Whatever vehicle was available with us, we started rushing the injured and dead to Guru Nanak Mission Hospital, Dhahan Kaleran,” he said.
Ambulances with doctors and paramedical staff of health department were also rushed to the spot and all injured were first taken to Guru Nanak Mission Hospital which is was nearest to the accident site.
later, seriously injured were shifted to a private hospital in Nawanshahr and at least one to DMC Hospital ludhiana.
While 10 of the dead have been identified remaining four are yet to be identified. The deceased include seven males, six females and a 10-year-old boy.
A couple from district Faridkot — retired Punjab Police inspector Sucha Ram and his wife Sheela — who had come to meet former's brother had died on the spot. According to officials 10 injured are in serious condition.