KOLKATA: Two dead bodies were recovered while more than 50 people are feared trapped inside a bus that skid off Balighat Bridge and plunged into the Bhairab river at Daulatabad in Murshidabad district of West Bengal on Monday morning. Initial investigations and eyewitness accounts said the bus driver, who also died in the accident, lost control while trying to overtake another vehicle on the bridge. The state-owned road transport bus fell nearly 10 metres off a bridge into river Bhairav after the driver lost control, about 280 kilometres north of state capital Kolkata, West Bengal's Transport Minister, Suvendu Adhikari, said. The bodies were recovered after six hours of rescue operations, he said, adding that survivors had been admitted to a local hospital. The West Bengal Government has launched an inquiry into the incident and announced compensation of 500,000 rupees ($9,700) for each of the families of the victims.
A bus plunges into the Bhairab River after falling off a bridge in Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India, killing at least 36 people. The late response by rescuers to save passengers leads to violence between local residents and police.