Bus accident kills 32 in India

Published June 16, 2012

The photo shows a bus accident in India. — Photo by AP

NEW DELHI: At least 32 pilgrims were killed and more than 20 injured on Saturday when their bus plunged off a bridge in western India, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

The pilgrims were returning from a visit to the popular Shirdi Saibaba temple, built in honour of an Indian guru, when the accident occurred before dawn in Maharashtra state's Osmanabad district, police told PTI.

“We had to struggle to rescue survivors and retrieve the victims' bodies from water,” a police official told CNN-IBN news channel.

India has the highest annual road death toll in the world, according to the World Health Organisation, with accidents caused by speeding, careless driving and poor roads.

Twenty-four Hindu pilgrims were killed in May when their bus collided with a truck and fell into a fast-flowing river in northern India.

Nearly 135,000 people or 366 a day died on India's roads in 2010, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.

Opinion

Editorial

Afghan turbulence
19 Mar, 2024

Afghan turbulence

RELATIONS between the newly formed government and Afghanistan’s de facto Taliban rulers have begun on an...
In disarray
19 Mar, 2024

In disarray

IT is clear that there is some bad blood within the PTI’s ranks. Ever since the PTI lost a key battle over ...
Festering wound
19 Mar, 2024

Festering wound

PROTESTS unfolded once more in Gwadar, this time against the alleged enforced disappearances of two young men, who...
Defining extremism
Updated 18 Mar, 2024

Defining extremism

Redefining extremism may well be the first step to clamping down on advocacy for Palestine.
Climate in focus
18 Mar, 2024

Climate in focus

IN a welcome order by the Supreme Court, the new government has been tasked with providing a report on actions taken...
Growing rabies concern
18 Mar, 2024

Growing rabies concern

DOG-BITE is an old problem in Pakistan. Amid a surfeit of public health challenges, rabies now seems poised to ...