17 killed and many injured in Shimla bus accident

In a catastrophic tragedy, at least 17 people were killed and 25 others injured when a private bus rolled 250 feet down into a gorge near Ghanahatti in Shimla on Friday morning.

The accident took place on Shimla-Bilaspur highway, 13 kms from here, when the private bus carrying nearly 40 people was going to Shimla from Dhami.

Eight persons died on the spot while six succumbed to injuries on way to hospital and three died in Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) hospital located in the capital of Himachal Pradesh.

The condition of four wounded people is "very critical" and the number of deceased could be more as some bodies are yet to be disengaged from the fully destroyed bus, the sources informed.

Majority of the victims were daily travelers, they said adding the dead were yet to be identified.

Reason behind the accident is yet to be known.