By IANS,
Shimla : The Himachal Pradesh government has began a probe into the accident in Shimla district in which 46 passengers were killed, an official said Wednesday.
“The additional district magistrate (law and order) will conduct an inquiry and submit the report to the district administration within 15 days,” Shimla District Commissioner J.S. Rana told IANS.
The government has announced Rs.50,000 compensation to the kin of the dead and expenses of the injured would be borne by the state government. Most of the dead were from Shimla district.
The ill-fated private bus was coming to the state capital from Kumarsain town when it fell into the 200 metre gorge near Fagu, 25 km from here.
Eyewitnesses said the bus was descending a steep gradient when the driver probably failed to negotiate a hairpin bend and the vehicle rolled down the gorge.
A police official said that there were 186 bus accidents in 2004 in which 179 people died. Out of these, 152 pertained to private buses while Himachal Pradesh Road Transport Corporation buses were involved in only 34 mishaps.
In 2006, private buses accounted for 131 accidents of the total 158 accidents in the state in which 146 people were killed.