Atleast 43 passengers are feared dead after a bus they were travelling in veered off a mountainous road and fell into river Tons near Chopal in Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh. The private bus bearing a Uttarakhand registration was enroute to Tiuni from Vikasnagar.
According to reports, the conductor of the bus jumped off the vehicle, seconds before it plummeted into the river. He was later apprehended by locals and is now being questioned. A young boy is also said to have survived the mishap, and is being treated by rescue personnel.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Shimla SP said that some villagers had seen two to three bodies floating along the Tons river. He also said that since the bus hails from neighbouring Uttarakhand, the state government had sent choppers to help with the search and rescue operations. The cause of the accident, however, remains unclear.
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