Road Accident / Seven Killed, 11 Injured as Bus Plunges into Gorge in Himachal Pradesh's Chamba

Shimla, Aug 8: At least seven people were killed and 11 others sustained injuries after a private passenger bus veered off the road and plunged into a 100-foot-deep gorge in Himachal Pradesh's Chamba district on Saturday morning, police said.

The accident occurred on the Tissa–Bairagarh route, around three kilometres from Bairagarh near the Chaluj turn, shortly after the bus began its journey for Chamba town at approximately 6.30 a.m. The vehicle, operated by Sharma Travelers, was carrying an estimated 20 to 25 passengers, most of them local residents travelling to Chamba.

According to police, the deceased include the bus driver and conductor, while the injured were rushed to a hospital in Tissa for treatment. The condition of some of the injured is reported to be critical.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the driver lost control of the bus while negotiating a sharp bend, causing the vehicle to skid off the road before tumbling into the gorge. The bus eventually came to rest on a road below the accident site after rolling down the hillside.

Chamba Superintendent of Police Vijay Saklani said the exact cause of the accident is yet to be established. "A detailed investigation has been initiated to ascertain the circumstances that led to the mishap," he said.

Local residents were the first to reach the accident site and immediately launched rescue efforts before police, district administration and emergency response teams arrived. Rescue operations gathered pace as authorities used specialised equipment to extricate passengers trapped inside the mangled bus.

Eyewitnesses said the severely damaged vehicle made rescue operations particularly challenging, requiring considerable effort to pull victims from the wreckage.
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Chamba, one of Himachal Pradesh's most remote districts, frequently witnesses road accidents due to its mountainous terrain, narrow roads and difficult driving conditions. The region also faces a shortage of public transport services, often resulting in overcrowded buses.

The stretch where the accident occurred has witnessed several serious mishaps in recent years and is considered accident-prone. Police have also repeatedly expressed concern over reckless driving and inadequate training among some private bus operators, factors often cited in fatal road accidents across the hill state.