StatesChhattisgarh
Six killed, about 20 badly hurt as bus slams into tree near Kelhari in Chhattisgarh
The bus carrying 46 people on the Manendragarh-Kelhari road left the road on Thursday afternoon. Witnesses told police the steering had failed; Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai announced ₹5 lakh for each victim's family.
Key points
- A passenger bus with 46 people on board hit a roadside tree near Rozi village in Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur district.
- Six people died and about 20 were seriously injured, two of whom were referred to Ambikapur.
- Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai announced ₹5 lakh for each bereaved family and ₹50,000 for each injured passenger.
Six people were killed and about 20 seriously injured on Thursday afternoon when a passenger bus crashed into a roadside tree near Kelhari in Chhattisgarh’s Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur (MCB) district.
The bus, carrying 46 people on the Manendragarh-Kelhari route, left the road close to Rozi village. Residents who reached the spot first helped pull passengers out. Many of the injured had fractures, and several others had minor injuries.
The injured were taken to the Civil Hospital in Manendragarh and the District Hospital in Chirimiri. Two of the most seriously hurt were referred to Ambikapur for further treatment.
Superintendent of Police Ratna Singh said those who saw the crash blamed the bus’s steering. “According to eyewitnesses and local residents who arrived at the scene immediately to help, the steering system failed,” she said. Police will register an FIR and investigate the exact cause.
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai announced ₹5 lakh for the family of each person killed and ₹50,000 for each injured passenger. “My deepest condolences go out to the families who have lost their loved ones in this heart-wrenching incident,” he wrote on X.
The names of those who died had not been released by Thursday night, and the authorities have not said who operated the bus.