3 die, 17 hurt in bus mishap near Batala

Three persons were killed and 17 injured, six of them seriously, when the driver of a Chandigarh-bound private bus tried to save a speeding motorcycle and lost control on the wheel following which the bus rammed into a tree and then into a bus stop at Shahbad village on the Batala-Qadian road, 6 km from the city, on Monday afternoon.

One of the deceased was identified as Abhijot Singh (13). Eyewitnesses said the driver tried his best to save the motorcyclists.

SSP Suhail Qasim Mir said the police were investigating the sequence of events leading to the accident. “All 17 injured persons were shifted to the civil hospital. Six of them are in a critical condition and have been referred to private hospitals in Amritsar,” he added.

“It appears the driver, in order to save the motorcyclists, rammed the bus into a tree near the bus stop. Parts of the iron shed of the bus stop pierced into the body of the bus, causing injuries to several passengers,” said a police officer present at the site.