Tragedy struck Haat Gamharia Police Station area of Chaibasa in West Singhbhum as at least eight people were killed and over 30 injured after two passenger buses collided head-on. The mishap took place about 90 km from Jamshedpur on Wednesday afternoon.
The mishap took place at Baljori Village on the Chaibasa-Noamundi State Highway No 75, about eight km away from Haat Gamharia police station and 35 km from Chaibasa.
The injured, which include 12 women and a few children, were immediately rushed to the Chaibasa Sadar Hospital while most were shifted to the Tata Main Hospital. Five passengers succumbed to their injuries on the spot.
According to sources, the vehicles coming from Chaibasa and Kiriburu caught fire after colliding head-on as the fuel tank of one of the buses burst following the impact.
West Singhbhum Superintendent of Police Michael Raj said the accident took place at about 3.45 pm and they were investigating the mishap. "As per our initial probe, it seems that there was a blast in the fuel tank of one of the buses and the fire that spread engulfed the other bus too. It happened very quickly. As the news reached us we immediately rushed the fire brigade to the spot, along with a medical team. The fire has been doused and the traffic has now been resumed", he said.
He confirmed that eight people, including three women were killed, but said the identity of those killed was yet to be established. The SP further went on to add that the bodies have been charred very badly. Since it was the front portion of the two buses that was worst affected, police are suspecting the drivers of the two vehicles have also died.
Officer-in-charge of Haat Gamharia Police Station Ashok Kumar Singh, who rescued the injured and also recovered the dead said that most of the injured have sustained burn injuries due to the fire that engulfed both the vehicles.
A resident of Chaibasa said that the bodies had been brought to the Chaibasa Sadar Hospital mortuary. "Those killed included a six-month-old baby and two women. They had head wounds and injuries to other parts of their body," said a resident.
Sources in Chaibasa said that the administration had a tough time ferrying the injured from Haat Gamharia to Chaibasa and from Chaibasa to Jamshedpur.
"There was total panic. There were only two ambulances at the Sadar Hospital in Chaibasa and it was very difficult to carry the injured to Chaibasa despite the fact that at least four of the injured were in a very critical condition and needed to be shifted for better treatment to Jamshedpur," said a staff of the Chaibasa Sadar Hospital on condition of anonymity. Therefore, he added, the administration used vehicles other than ambulances to carry the injured from Hat Gamharia to Chaibasa, which was about an hour-long ride.