Muktsar bus accident: Passenger from Bathinda reported missing

Chandigarh, September 20

A Bhatinda resident was on Wednesday reported missing and feared to have been swept away in water, a day after a private bus fell into the Sirhind feeder canal in Muktsar district, killing eight people, officials said.

At least 10 passengers who escaped unhurt in the incident were rescued while 12 injured passengers shifted to hospital, they said.

Muktsar Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Kanwarjeet Singh on Wednesday said they received a missing report of a 24-year-old man from Bathinda.

The passenger’s brother approached the district administration and filed the report.

The missing man’s bag has been recovered, the SDM said, adding that a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is carrying out an operation to trace him.

The incident took place at around 1:30 pm on Tuesday near Jhabelwali village on the Muktsar-Kotkapura road after the bus skidded off the road when the brakes were applied. The bus was going from Muktsar to Kotkapura.

Earlier, the district administration had also launched a helpline number for getting information about any untraced passenger.

Eight passengers, including five women, were killed in the accident. According to the bus operator, the total number of passengers in the bus could be around 35, officials said.