Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, October 02 2009:
At least eight passengers - including a two and half year old girl and two women - were killed and ten others occupants injured when a Dimapur-bound tourist bus from Manipur met an accident near Dimapur late Thursday night.
The incident occurred around 11.30pm yesterday around one and half kilometre away from Chumukedima Police Check Gate on NH 39.A case has been registered at the Dimapur Police Station.
According to information culled from Dimapur Police, the registration number of the ill-fated Imphal-Dimapur bus of the Rajdhani Travels is MN04/A-2629.The bus left Imphal on Thursday morning with 37 passengers.
Some of the passengers were said to have changed their vehicles on the way due to three 'unpredicted' stops owing to wheel punctures.
At the time of the incident, only 23 passengers, including nine passengers picked up from Mao Gate, were in the bus.
The bus fell into Chathe River near Dimapur after hitting a stone railing at a place between Kukidolong and Chumukedima.
The dead victims have been identified as Esther Mao (28) of Mao, Pepei Lamkang (25), Yansumong Chang (28) of 10th IRB, Nagaland, two and half year old Wariz Khan, driver of the bus Abui, co-driver Tomba, handyman Adem and Panchanglon Pamei (23) .
The Dimapur police said its personnel and 20 AR personnel acted swiftly to rescue the passengers and evacuated them at the nearby hospitals.
All the dead bodies were said to have been retrieved and deposited at Dimapur Civil Hospital.