Shimla

A day after 14 people died in a bus accident in Himachal's Sirmaur district, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri ordered a probe to ascertain the cause.

Agnihotri, who holds the transport portfolio, said an inquiry has been ordered into the tragic road accident that led to 14 deaths and injuries to a large number of people.

The administration has acted promptly in the entire matter, and the injured are undergoing treatment in different hospitals, he said.

The accident occurred on Friday afternoon, when an overloaded private bus, surpassing its seating capacity of 39, veered off the road on its way to Kupvi from Shimla, and fell into a 500-feet deep gorge.

It landed upside down near Haripurdhar village, around 95 kilometres from the district headquarters, Nahan. Besides 14 casualties, which include eight women, about 52 people sustained injuries in the accident.

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The cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained; however, locals suspect that the bus driver lost control of the vehicle, following which it skidded off the road due to frost accumulation.

The injured are undergoing treatment in several hospitals, including Rajgarh Government Hospital, Nahan Medical College, Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, while those with serious injuries have been referred to PGI Chandigarh, officials said.