SHIMLA: Two people, including the bus conductor, were killed and 22 others injured when a Himachal Road Transport Corporation bus rolled down a 100-foot gorge in the Nankhari police station area of Shimla district on Wednesday evening.
The incident took place around 6:30 PM near Gartola in Nankhari tehsil on the Rampur-Khadahan-Kotadhar-Kholighat route. The HRTC bus (HP-06A-6454) was on its way from Rampur to Kholighat with 24 passengers on board when the driver lost control of the vehicle.
Though several residential houses were located near the crash site, they narrowly escaped being hit by the falling bus. Following the accident, local residents rushed to the spot to rescue the passengers and alerted the Nankhari police.
Locals helped pull the injured out of the gorge and brought them to the road. They were subsequently shifted to the Mahatma Gandhi Medical Service Complex in Khaneri, Rampur, using ambulances and private vehicles.
The deceased have been identified as bus conductor Jai Prakash Negi, a resident of Ghadoli village in Nankhari, and 72-year-old Dakhu Ram, a resident of Shahdu village in Nankhari.
Shimla Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap expressed deep grief over the accident and extended his condolences to the grieving families. The district administration has immediately released an interim relief of ₹20,000 to the family of the local deceased, while relief for the other victim’s family will be processed after the official report.
Rampur SDM Harsh Amarendra Negi is currently at the hospital monitoring the medical treatment and relief operations. The Deputy Commissioner assured that the administration is working according to the relief rules and will provide all possible assistance to the affected families and the injured.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh, and Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur expressed profound grief over the tragic accident near Kholighat, Nankhari. Praying for the departed souls, they wished a speedy recovery to all the injured.
