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16 killed in HP bus mishap

Sixteen people were killed and 62 injured, 18 of them seriously, when a Himachal Road Transport Corporation bus plunged into a gorge at Bagahar village near Kotkhai, in Shimla district today.

While 14 people died on the spot, two persons succumbed to their injuries on the way to a hospital, police said in Shimla.

Thirty of the injured were hospitalised at a community health centre at Kotkhai and 14 others were discharged after first aid.

The seriously injured were being brought to Indira Gandhi Hospital at Shimla.

The government ordered a magisterial inquiry into the accident.

Sources said the bus fell into the 35-foot-deep gorge while negotiating a curve. Efforts were being made to retrieve the damaged bus.

The overloaded bus with some people perched atop its roof, was coming to Shimla from Kiari.

Soon after the accident, police personnel from the Kotkhai police station reached the site to launch rescue operations.

Shimla Deputy Commissioner Ram Subhag Singh and District Police Chief G C thakur have already left for the spot.

Minister of State for Horticulture Narinder Bragta has also rushed to the spot to supervise the rescue operation.

UNI

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