Five killed, over 25 hurt in Nalbari

GUWAHATI/HAJO: In a tragic accident that allegedly took place due to deteriorating road condition, at least five persons lost their lives and 27 sustained injuries many of them seriously on Saturday afternoon when a passenger bus turned turtle and fell into a deep gorge in lower Assam’s Nalbari district.

According to eye witnesses and police, the driver of the ill-fated Assam State Transport Corporation’s bus (AS-20-1422) lost control of the vehicle in the Adabari area near Mukalmuwa in Nalbari district following which it overturned and rolled down the road to fall into a gorge at around 3.30 p.m. on Saturday. The bus was on its way from Guwahati to Barpeta.

Even though the local SDRF personnel started their rescue operation within an hour of the accident, the locals immediately started assembling at the accident site and started recovering the bodies and rescuing other passengers of the bus.

Five bodies, including those of four women, have been recovered from the accident site while 21 others with serious injuries have been rescued and sent to the nearby hospital. The bodies recovered have been identified as Nizara Das (42) from Kulhati in Hajo; Pompi Begum (15) from Larkuchi in Nalbari; Silbanu Begum (55) from Lasima in Barpeta; and Troilokhya Haloi (70) from Piplibari in Nalbari district. One of the female bodies is yet to be identified

Police said there were around 50 passengers in the bus when the accident occurred and there is a possibility that some could still be trapped inside the gorge. A district administration official present at the accident site said the casualty may rise further and the SDRF personnel are making all efforts to rescue all passengers.

The local people of Adabari have attributed the deteriorating road condition to the Saturday’s tragic accident. “Despite repeated reminders the authorities concerned have not repaired the stretch of the road in between Nalbari and Barpeta that passes through Adabari. Accidents have become regular occurrences in our area,” a resident of Adabari said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has expressed his condolences to families of those who had died in the accident. He said the government will extend its full help to the injured persons.