At least 35 people were killed yesterday when a 50-seater bus fell into a deep pond in Bihar’s Madhubani district, officials said.
“So far, 35 bodies have been found and the bus was pulled out of the water. But search for missing passengers is still on,” a district official said.
The accident took place near Basakha Chowk in Benapatti area, about 250km from Patna.
The bus was on its way to Sitamarhi from Madhubani.
District officials along with State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel were engaged in rescue and search of other passengers feared drowned, an official said.
Witnesses said some of the passengers swam to safety.
According to the police, more than 5,000 people from neighbouring villages gathered at the accident site.
Angry over the alleged delay on the part of local administration to start rescue operations, a group of people staged a protest and threw stones at district officials, including the vehicle of the District Magistrate.
The state government has announced compensation of Rs400,000 to the families of each victim.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed grief over the incident.
India’s high rate of fatal traffic accidents, an average of 135,000 people annually for the past five years, is mostly blamed on poorly maintained roads and vehicles, or on negligent driving.