Patna: At least two passengers lost their lives and 28 others were injured after a bus hit a divider and rammed into a stationary autorickshaw parked on the roadside on National Highway 22 (Patna-Gaya Dobhi Road), within the limits of Masaurhi police station area of Patna district, on Thursday evening. The bus was carrying over 40 passengers for a holy dip in Patna on the occasion of Kartik Purnima.
Masaurhi sub-divisional magistrate Amit Kumar Patel said the deceased were identified as Fulendra Kumar (25), son of late Laldhari Yadav, and Tulsin Yadav (65), son of late Rambhajan Yadav. Both were natives of Bajitpur village at Belaganj in Gaya district.
The incident occurred around 6.30pm at Raja Bigha. "The driver lost control and collided with the divider near Taregana Muth and hit the autorickshaw. Both the vehicles tumbled down to a nearby field," Patel told this reporter. Local people said the bus was moving at a high speed.
On receiving the information, the police reached the spot and sent the bodies to the hospital. The injured were admitted to the sub-divisional hospital.
SDPO-I, Masaurhi, Nabh Vaibhav, said two people died on the spot while the injured were admitted to the sub-divisional hospital for treatment. "Three people were critical and they were referred to the PMCH for advanced treatment. As many as 12 passengers were discharged after treatment, as they suffered minor injuries," he said.