JOWAI: 11 passengers were killed while 21 were injured, some critically, after a night bus in which they were travelling went off the road and fell into a deep gorge at Tongseng village in East Jaintia Hills at around 1:15 AM on Tuesday.
Police sources informed that the bus (AS24C-2788) owned by Capital Travels was on its way to Hailakandi from Guwahati. All the dead were males. Ten of them died on the spot while one succumbed to his injuries at Jowai Civil Hospital on Wednesday. Among the injured are four women.
Some of the deceased were identified as Sanjeev Baisnob, Md. Jalaluddin Mazumdar, Gopi Das, Md. Abdul Ash Barbuiya, Dandi Ram Rai, Arjun Biswas, Paban Sinha and Subhendra Namasudra.
Among the dead are Commandant Dandi Ram Rai, 147 Bn CRPF, deployed at Silchar, Head Constable Subhendra Namasudra, 38 Bn SSB deployed at Tawang and Constable Paban Sinha, 7 Bn, Assam Regiment, deployed at Shillong.
The injured were rushed to Khliehriat CHC, Jowai Civil Hospital, and Silchar Medical College.
According to the police, the accident was a result of over speeding coupled with misty night condition.
Lumshnong Police and Khliehriat Police along with hundreds of BSF personnel from the 98th Battalion rushed to the spot and pulled out the bodies and rescued the survivors. BSF ambulances rushed the injured to Khliehriat CHC as there were no doctors at Lumshnong PHC, sources informed.
This is not the first time that such a major road mishap has claimed many lives in the district.
In 2012, 30 people were killed while 26 others including two minor girls sustained injuries when a night bus of Sherowali Travels (AS01Y-7379) proceeding to Agartala from Guwahati plunged 250 feet into a gorge at almost the same area at Tongseng village near Sunapur.
In another incident on December 18, 2009, another mishap in almost the same area killed eight passengers and injured as many as 20 others when a night bus bound to Agartala from Guwahati plunged 500 feet into a gorge.
