At least 17 people were killed and 26 others were injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck transporting gas cylinders in Jharkhand’s Pakur district Wednesday morning, the police said.
The accident happened around 8:30 am on the Govindpur-Sahibganj state highway.
Around 40 passengers on board the bus were headed to Jasidih in the Deoghar district from Barharwa in Sahibganj.
Several people trapped inside the bus were rescued after dismantling the vehicle with gas-cutters, the police said.
Heavy fog in the area may be the reason behind the accident, they said, adding, none of the gas cylinders on the truck exploded.
The death count could further rise, a police officer said.
The district administration has announced an aid of ₹ 1 lakh each for the families of those killed in the accident.
“The death count in the accident has increased to 17, while the number of injured is 26. At least three of them are critical,” Civil Surgeon of Pakur RD Paswan told news agency PTI.
One of the critical patients has been referred to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi and the process to shift the others is underway, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Ajit Kumar Vimal said.