45 tourists injured as bus falls into gorge in Bilaspur

SHIMLA: Around 45 tourists from Bhutan were injured when a private tourist bus they were travelling in rolled off the road and fell into a 20ft-gorge at Baner in Swarghat area of Bilaspur district in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday evening. The private bus bearing registration number of Uttar Pradesh (UP-62-T-4647) was on its way to Delhi from Manikaran in Kullu district.
The accident occurred due to fault in the gear box during upward climb towards Swarghat on Chandigarh-Manali national highway and after turning turtle twice, it came to a halt upon hitting a tree, sources said.A case of rash driving and causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others was registered at Swarghat police station and the investigation for the cause of the accident was started.
Witnessing the accident around 4pm, local people informed the police. Cops and district administration officials rushed to the spot to carry out relief operation. The bus was carrying around 45 passengers, sources said.
With the help of ambulances and private vehicles, the injured were shifted to government hospitals of Bilaspur and Nalagarh, while those seriously injured were taken to PGI, Chandigarh.