SHIMLA: Forty-five people , including 10 women and nine children, were killed when a private bus coming from Uttarakhand fell into river Tons in Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday. Two people, including the bus conductor, however, had a miraculous escape.The driver of the bus (UK-16PA-0045) on way from Vikasnagar in Uttarakhand to Kerar (Tiuni) in Shimla district lost control of the vehicle near Gumma at around 11 am, and led to the vehicle skidding off the road, plunging 250 metres into the river.Bus conductor Tulsi Ram, a resident of Uttarakhand, and another passenger managed to jump out of the bus when it was rolling down the hill. They escaped with a few injuries.A Himachal police survey on road accidents from 2006-12 had found 314 'black spots', where 4,488 accidents took place in six years resulting in the death of 1,048 people and injuries to 6,844. There was a plan to put up barricades, especially at sharp bends, but nothing has been done so far.Police have registered a case and begun probing the reasons behind the accident. Preliminary investigations have revealed that the accident occurred due to reckless and careless driving by the driver on a bumpy road.Some locals who witnessed the accident informed the police. Teams from Nerwa and Sirmaur were sent to carry out rescue operations. The team menbers found most of the passengers were dead and the bodies of many of them disfigured. Confusion persisted over the number of people on the bus. Initially it was said the bus had 56 passengers on board, but the conductor put the number at 46. Till the filing of this report, 26 bodies were identified -nine were from Himachal Pradesh and another 17 from Uttarakhand. Nineteen bodies were yet to be identified.Shimla, SP, D W Negi said the accident took place in the jurisdiction of Nerwa Police Station of Shimla district located close to the border of Sirmaur district.Negi said SSP Dehradun reached the site with NDRF and other relief and rescue materials. An NDRF team also came in a helicopter from Dehradun. One contingent from Shimla was also rushed to the spot from Shimla to bring the bodies on the road, he added.Uttarakhand CM Trivender Rawat also visited the spot. Himachal Pradesh Governor Acharya Devvrat and Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh mourned the death of the passengers. Virbhadra Singh has directed the district administration to provide all possible assistance to family members of the victims.

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