Meghalaya bus accident: 16 of 31 dead passengers identified

Shillong: Out of the 31 passengers who died in the bus accident in East Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya, only 16 of them have been identified today, one of them included an army jawan.

Thirty one persons, including women and children died while 27 were critically injured when the Tripura-bound bus fell into a deep gorge along the NH 44 highway at Tamseng early morning yesterday.

"Officials from Tripura who were camping in the district headquarter have identified as many as 16 of those who died either on the spot or who succumbed to their injuries," East Jaintia Hills deputy commissioner Abhishek Bhagotia said.

He said 15 bodies were despatched to Tripura where they would be laid to rest and the body of an army jawan hailing from Nashik has also been identified.

Fourteen bodies are yet to be identified and are kept at the morgue at Khliehriat Community Health Centre (CHC), he said.

The district officials have set up a control room at Jowai in West Jaintia Hills where people can contact either through e-mail (syiem123@gmail.com) or through telephone 0365-2220711 and mobile +91 94361-06342.

Officials have ruled out fresh casualty today.

The 41-seater night bus was overloaded with passengers whom the driver picked up along the Guwahati-Shillong-Jowai route before he lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a sharp turn.

Police have not ruled out drunken driving to be among one of the reasons.