7 killed, 12 hurt after passenger bus rams parked truck in Korba

Raipur: Seven people were killed when their passenger bus rammed into a truck parked on the roadside in the pre-dawn hours on Monday in Korba district of Chhattisgarh. A dozen people were injured, three of them seriously.The deceased include a schoolteacher and her five-year-old son. The sight of their mutilated bodies left people shivering. There are two women among the dead.Chief minister Bhupesh Baghel has extended deep condolences at the loss of lives. He has asked officials to ensure proper assistance to the bereaved families and treatment to those injured.Korba SP Santosh Singh said that the accident took place on National Highway 130 near Madai Ghat in Bango region (around 220km from Raipur). The private bus was headed from Raipur to Sitapur in Surguja district when it crashed halfway, around 4am.“The accident took place when the bus driver was trying to prevent a collision with a car coming from the opposite direction. Instead, the bus rammed a truck parked on the road. The injured have been admitted to hospital and the driver was arrested,” SP said.The impact was so severe that one side of the was sheared off, end to end. Mayhem erupted on the road as body parts and mutilated bodies were flung about. A highway patrol police sped to the spot and began rescue efforts. Seven passengers were killed on the spot.Some of the bodies were so disfigured by the accident that only four of them had been identified by evening — Usha Lakda, 43, her son Reliance, Ajay Vardan, 40, and Rohit Singh, 30. Police are trying to identify the others so that their families can be informed. The injured have been admitted to hospital where the condition of three is of concern.