Mussoorie: As many as 37 passengers and a driver and a conductor had a close shave on Sunday when the bus they were in veered off the road and fell into another road below. One of them is critical. A total of 25 persons were injured, one of them is critical. The passengers included tourists from Delhi, Rajasthan and UP.
The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon near Indo Tibet Border Police ( ITBP ) gate, around a kilometre from Gandhi Chowk. It was raining heavily and the Utta Oakland roadways bus going from Mussoorie to Dehradun slipped on the road and landed on a private road of the ITBP, which runs alongside and below the main road. The parallel road helped soften the impact of the fall and averted a major disaster.
Police, ITBP jawans, fire brigade and 108 ambulances rushed to the spot and helped rescue the passengers, even as heavy rain hindered rescue operations. Eleven injured persons were taken to a government hospital in Mussoorie and 14 were taken to a hospital within the ITBP campus. One person got severe injuries and was referred to a higher centre in Dehradun.
The driver of the bus, Mahendra Singh, said the brakes on the bus failed and even as the tried to drive it into a hillside and stop it, it went out of control and fell off the road.
Dehradun district magistrate Sonika ( who goes by her first name ) and senior super intendent police ( SSP ) Dilip Singh Kanwar went to the spot and reached the sub-district hospital at Mussoorie, where many of the injured passengers were admitted. " An enquiry will be conducted to ascertain the exact rea son of this accident, "
