Shimla: Seven people, including the driver and conductor, were killed and 11 others injured after a private passenger bus met with an accident in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh on Saturday morning. The injured have been admitted to hospital for treatment.

According to preliminary information, the bus left Bairagarh for Chamba at around 6.30 am. After travelling for nearly three kilometres, the vehicle lost its balance near Chaloj Mor, close to Devi Kothi, on the Tissa-Bairagarh main road. The bus skidded off the road, overturned and fell from a considerable height onto another road below.

The bus was reportedly carrying 18 people at the time of the accident. Some passengers were trapped underneath the overturned vehicle, following which local residents and passers-by rushed to the spot and helped in the rescue effort. Police were alerted and teams reached the site to assist in evacuating the passengers and shifting the injured to hospital.

The impact left the bus badly damaged. Rescue personnel and local people worked together to pull out those trapped in and around the vehicle before the injured were taken to a nearby hospital.

There have been differing reports from some local media outlets regarding the death toll, with some putting the number at eight. However, the Chamba District Disaster Management Authority has confirmed seven deaths and 11 injuries. Details regarding the identities of those killed and injured, as well as the exact cause of the accident, were not immediately available.

The accident comes amid concerns over a series of road mishaps in Chamba district in recent months. More than 25 people are reported to have lost their lives in separate road accidents in the district over the past two months.

In a recent incident near the Chamba border, 13 passengers travelling in a Tata Sumo were killed after the vehicle was caught in a landslide. Earlier, on July 28, five people, including a child, were killed in another accident in Chamba. The vehicle, reportedly carrying people travelling for medical treatment, fell into a deep gorge near Lahar village on the Pathankot-Bharmour National Highway after apparently going out of control.