Twelve persons were killed when a bus travelling from Silapathar in Dheamji district to Guwahati fell off a bridge on National Highway 37 into a pond at Sonapur, about 25 km from here, at around 4.30 am on Sunday. The bus (AS-01T-4776), that had 16 passengers, hit the side of a bridge across a pond that also serves as a water channel during monsoon. The police said the accident was a result of rash and careless driving.“The bus must have been coming at a high speed due to which the driver lost control while approaching the bridge at a major curve on the highway,” Guwahati’s Additional SP Debajit Deuri said. The highway is currently being converted into a four-lane east-west highway.While four persons have survived, the driver is absconding. The injured have been admitted to Guwahati Medical College Hospital. The state Government has announced a relief of Rs one lakh for the next of kin of those killed in the mishap. Divers of the National Disaster Relief Force, which is part of the Border Security Force, were engaged to search the pond as the bus had got entirely submerged after falling from a height of 30 feet. Ten out of the 12 bodies were identified till 5 pm.This is the third major road accident in the Northeast this year. Eleven passengers were killed when a bus travelling from Silchar to Guwahati fell into a deep gorge at Mawryngkneng, 40 km from Shillong, on January 21. Sixteen persons were killed in an accident in Churachandpur in Manipur on January 17.
