Hopes fading for kin of persons missing after Manikaran bus accident

BATHINDA: Relatives of missing persons in the Manikaran bus accident in Himachal Pradesh have started fearing the worst. A total of 35 passengers are untraceable even after 48 hours of the bus falling into Parbati river at Sarsari village near Kullu.
Nine persons died and 23 were injured in the accident that took place on Thursday afternoon. The bus having the capacity of 52 passengers had 67 persons on board.Meanwhile, bodies of six persons, including four women, reached three villages of Bathinda on Saturday morning. Out of the nine victims identified so far, seven belong to Bathinda district and two from villages of Mansa. The bus of Barnala-based Guru Kirpa transport company was on way to Manikaran in Kullu district when it fell into the raging Parbati river on Thursday.
Bodies of Balwant Kaur, 60, and Manjit Kaur, 61, were brought back on Saturday morning at Jaga Ram Tirath village. Both were cremated at the village on Saturday. Bathinda deputy commissioner Basant Garg and Talwandi Sabo MLA Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu were present at the cremation site. Bodies of Baljit Kaur, 55, and Sher Singh, 60, of Lelewala village were also cremated on Saturday. Retired assistant sub-inspector Gurbakhsh Singh, 60, and his wife Angrej Kaur, 58, too were consigned to flames at their native Mehraj village in Bathinda.
Jaga Ram Tirath, resident Surjit Sharma, who had gone to Kullu, said, "More than 48 hours have passed after the incident and nearly half of the passengers of the bus are still untraceable. We fear the worst and now, only a miracle can save those missing." "We have come here hoping to get back our dear ones, but we may have to return empty handed," said Baljit Singh of Bathinda village, who is camping at Kullu since Friday. Bathinda naib tehsildar Gurtej Singh, who is overseeing the rescue operations, said no more missing persons could be traced till Saturday evening and no body was found. There are 17 persons from two villages of Barnala district in the list of injured or missing out of which 11 are residents of Pakho Kalan and six are from Rajgarh.