5 dead, 20 injured in bus as bus falls into 80-foot gorge in Yercaud

CHENNAI: Five persons including an 11-year-old boy died and many others were injured as a private bus fell into an 80-foot gorge on the Yercaud Ghat road in Salem on Tuesday evening.

The bus, driven by Mani (30) from Vazhavanthi village in Yercaud was bound for Salem with around 57 passengers when the mishap happened around 6 pm.

“While going down the 13th hairpin bend, the driver lost control at a sharp turn due to suspected brake failure. It then ran berserk amidst the thickets to crash into a tree on the 11th hairpin bend,” police said.

Four persons including the boy died on the spot, while one more person succumbed to injuries at the Salem Government Hospital. On receiving information, a large team of rescue personnel, police, and public rushed to the spot and sent the injured persons by ambulance and other vehicles to Salem Government Hospital.

A few persons have been sent to nearby private hospitals.

After preliminary inquiries, police have identified the deceased of three persons as S Karthi (37) from Suramangalam in Salem, Munneswaran (11) from Namakkal and Hariram (57) from Perumal Kovil Street in Salem.

The identity of two other deceased men was yet to be known. Salem District Collector R Brindha Devi visited the scene of the mishap and later to Salem GH, where she appealed to doctors to take better care of the injured persons.

Following the mishap, traffic was disrupted on Salem- Yercaud Road for a while. An investigation is on by the Yercaud police.

According to other reports, it was learnt that more than 50 people were travelling in the ill-fated bus. With some of them critically injured, the toll may likely go up.

The Ghat Road has been witnessing increasing traffic due to summer vacation and tourists were thronging Yercaud in large numbers to beat the searing heat wave being witnessed in several parts of the State.