As many as seven passengers were killed and 35 others injured when a private bus overturned allegedly due to the negligence of the driver on Sunday morning at Banjari ghat in Pendra tehsil of Bilaspur district, police said.
According to the injured passengers, the driver and the conductor of the Allahabad-bound bus had got heavily drunk at a roadside dhaba.
The bus driver lost control of the vehicle and it overturned and fell into a 10-feet deep ditch, said Bilaspur Additional Superintendent of Police (rural) Archana Jha. The bus had about 50 passengers on-board.
Inhabitants living nearby immediately reached the spot and alerted the local administration which rescued the injured passengers and shifted to a nearby hospital.
"Out of the 35 injured, 23 were shifted to the Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Science (CIMS), Bilaspur, after preliminary treatment at Ratanpur primary health centre.
Nine are being treated in Gaurela and three in Ratanpur," Jha said.
A case has been registered in this connection and a probe was underway, she added.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Raman Singh extended condolence to the families of the deceased.
He directed the officials concerned to ensure proper treatment of the injured.