Jamshedpur : At least eight persons were killed and over 30 injured, including a dozen women, after two passenger buses collided head-on at Haat Gamharia police station area of Chaibasa in West Singhbhum as. The mishap took place about 90 km from Jamshedpur this afternoon.
The mishap took place at Baljori village on Chaibasa-Noamundi State Highway No 75, about eight kms away from Haat Gamharia police station and 35 kms from Chaibasa.
The injured, which include women and children, were immediately rushed to Chaibasa Sadar Hospital while most were shifted to Tata Main Hospital. Five passengers succumbed to their wounds on the spot.
According to sources, the vehicles were coming from Chaibasa and Kiriburu and collided head-on. The vehicles caught fire after the fuel tank following the impact.
West Singhbhum superintendent of police Michael Raj said that the mishap took place at about 3.45 pm. He said the mishap took place as one of the bus `Maa Parvati,’ which was coming from Kiriburu collided with �Tamanna� bus which was coming from Chaibasa.
West Singhbhum Superintendent of Police Michael S Raj said that they were investigating the mishap. � As per our initial probe it seems that there was a blast in the fuel tank of one of the buses and the fire that spread engulfed the other bus too. It happened very quickly.
As the news reached us we immediately rushed the fire brigade on the spot, along with a medical team. The fire has been doused and the traffic has now been resumed�, he said.
The West Singhbhum SP confirmed that eight persons, including three women were killed, but said the identity of those killed was yet to be established. The SP further went on to add that the bodies have been charred so badly that we have not able to ascertain how many women have died.
Since it was the front portion of the two buses that were worst affected, we are suspecting the drivers of the two vehicles have also succumbed.
Officer-in-charge of Hat Gamharia police station Ashok Kumar Singh, who rescued the injured and also recovered the dead said that most of the injured have sustained burn injuries due to the fire that engulfed both the vehicles.
A local resident of Chaibasa said that the bodies had been brought to the Chaibasa Sadar Hospital mortuary. “Those killed included a six-month old baby and two women. They were injured in their head and also other parts of the body,” said a resident.
Sources in Chaibasa said that the administration had a tough time to carry the injured persons from Haat Gamharia to Chaibasa and from Chaibasa to Jamshedpur.
” There was panic all over. There were only two ambulance at the Sadar Hospital in Chaibasa and it was very difficult to carry the injured to Chaibasa despite the fact that at least four of the injured were in a very critical condition and needed to be shifted for better treatment to Jamshedpur,” said a staff of the Chaibasa Sadar Hospital on condition of anonymity.
Therefore, he added, the administration used vehicles other than ambulance to carry the injured from Hat Gamharia to Chaibasa, which was about an hour-long ride.
The SP said that the road where the accident took place had sharp curve, it was possible that the drivers could not control their vehicles due to speed and collided.
The police said that the drivers of the two buses were also believed to have died. However, identification was proving to be tough as the bodies were charred beyond recognition.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das expressed condolences on the incident and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh each to the next of the kin of the deceased and Rs 20,000 each to the injured. He also directed Tata Main Hospital (TMH) in Jamshedpur to be on stand-by.
