Forty people were injured when a KSRTC bus skidded off the road and fell into a 100-foot deep gorge at Anpathancham Mile, near Vandiperiyar, on the Kottayam-Kumily road on Wednesday.
Nineteen people who sustained serious injuries were rushed to Government Medical College Hospital, Kottayam. The condition of five of them is stated to be serious.
The Peerumade police said that there were 37 passengers in the Kumily-Kottayam bus, when the accident occurred at 1 p.m. While giving way to another KSRTC bus from Kottayam to Kumily on the narrow stretch, it skidded off the road. The loose soil might be a reason for the accident, said the police. Fire and Rescue Services personnel, local people, and the police rescued the passengers from the bus. They were given preliminary treatment at the Primary Health Centre, Peerumade.
Heavy rain hampered rescue operations. Some passengers who sustained minor injuries were admitted to the PHC, said the police, adding that the staff of the bus, including a checker, were also injured. — A Correspondent
