At least 27 people dead, several injured as bus overturns in Bihar's Motihari

Image Credit: ANI

Patna: At least twenty-seven people were killed and several others injured when a bus carrying passengers overturned in Bihar's Motihari district on Thursday.

The New Delhi-bound bus was carrying 35 passengers and had left from Bihar's Muzaffarpur when it went off the road and overturned due to a large pothole.

The accident happened near Kotwa Police Station on National Highway No. 28 in the Motihari district, according to reports.

According to initial reports, the ill-fated bus caught fire due to the mishap, which resulted in the tragic death of at least twenty-seven people.

#UPDATE Total 27 people have died due to fire in a bus, after it overturned, in Bihar's Motihari pic.twitter.com/IHxHKzJMNX — ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2018

News Agency ANI had initially reported 12 deaths due to the mishap. 

#SpotVisuals: Bihar: 12 people dead due to fire in a bus after it overturned, in Motihari; Death toll expected to rise, more details awaited. pic.twitter.com/SNyMYUYmih — ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2018

The eyewitnesses, who rushed to help after seeing a huge plume of smoke billowing out of the bus, said that the death toll may go up.

The locals are currently helping the passengers trapped in the bus and the Motihari district administration officials have also rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation.

Motihari District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police have also reached the accident spot and at least four people have been rescued safely.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams have also been rushed to the spot and the hospitals in Motihari and nearby Muzaffarpur districts have been put on alert.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also expressed his condolences to the kith and kin of those killed in the accident.

''It is a really painful incident, local administration officials are present at the spot. We will extend all possible help to the families of those who died,'' Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on the Motihari bus accident.

It is a really painful incident, local administration officials are present at the spot. We will extend all possible help to the families of those who died: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Motihari bus accident that claimed 27 lives pic.twitter.com/7MXmOkb19Q

— ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2018

''It is a really sad incident. There is a provision to give compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the next of kin of dead in such cases and it will be given,'' Bihar's Disaster Management and Relief Minister said on the Motihari bus accident. 

It is a really sad incident. There is a provision to give compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the next of kin of dead in such cases and it will be given: Bihar Disaster Management and Relief Minister on Motihari bus accident #Bihar pic.twitter.com/rS20bHej61 — ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2018

The Motihari bus mishap took place nearly a month after at least 10 people, including two women and as many children, were killed when a bus skidded off an elevated highway in Sitamarhi, Bihar.

Earlier on April 7, a similar accident took place in Bihar's Mirganj, when another bus overturned because the driver and conductor were allegedly fighting, and the distracted driver lost control.

Fifteen people were seriously injured in the accident, with seven sustaining critical injuries.

In another such incident on February 19, a bus carrying a marriage party overturned. Eight people from the family died in the accident while 40 others were injured.