Six people, including four women, were killed and 40 others injured after a passenger bus carrying 46 people crashed into a roadside tree in Chhattisgarh's Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur (MCB) district on Thursday, police said, according to ANI.
Source: ANI via DevDiscourse
The accident took place shortly after noon near the Semarmathani turn on the Manendragarh-Kelhari road. Superintendent of Police Ratna Singh said passengers told police the driver lost control of the steering before the bus hit the tree, and that around 20 people, including the driver, were seriously injured while another 20 sustained minor injuries, Hindustan Times reported.
Source: Hindustan Times via The Business Standard
Police identified the deceased as Panchram (70), Madhu and Neha of Rojhi village, bus owner Sipahi Lal of Kelhari, Sangeeta of Gudru village and Sukaron (80) of Kelhari. The injured were taken to hospitals in Manendragarh and Chirmiri, with two seriously injured passengers referred to Ambikapur and two others shifted to the district hospital in Chirmiri.
Singh said eyewitnesses spoke of a steering failure, but police will register an FIR and conduct a detailed investigation to determine the exact cause — the cause has not yet been officially established.
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai expressed grief over the deaths, directed the district administration to ensure proper treatment of the injured, and announced Rs 5 lakh for the family of each deceased person and Rs 50,000 for each injured person.