Five dead, 22 injured as bus falls into canal in West Bengal’s Hooghly

At least five people were killed and 22 others injured after a bus fell into a canal at Haripal in Hooghly district of West Bengal. The incident took place on Tuesday around 7.30 am. The injured have been rushed to a local hospital and the police are in the process of identifying the victims. While four passengers died on spot, the fifth one died while he was being rushed to hospital. “The injured persons have already been rushed to a local hospital. The condition of four injured is quite critical,” said Sukesh Jain, Superintendent of Police, Hooghly. The Kolkata-bound bus, ferrying around 50 passengers, collided with the cement railings of a bridge before breaking it and falling into the Dakatia khal near Gojarmore, SP Sukesh Jain told PTI. The passengers trapped in the bus were rescued by district police, disaster management personnel and local residents. According to police, rescue teams had to break open the windows of the bus to evacuate trapped passengers. “We are not sure why the accident happened. The driver may have lost control of the vehicle due to overspeeding or there may have been a technical fault. Investigations are underway,” Jain said. After the police team reached the accident, there was some tension in the area as the locals alleged that the police reached late. In January this year, at least 36 people were killed after a bus of West Bengal Transport Corporation fell into a canal at Daulatabad in Murshidabad district of Bengal. Source: The Indian Express