7 killed as bus falls into river from bridge, 50 untraceable

KOLKATA: At least seven persons were killed and a number of others got injured when a bus, carrying over 50 passengers, plunged into a river due to poor visibility in Murshidabad district in West Bengal on Monday.
The bus, carrying at least 55 passengers, fell into the river Bhagirathi in Murshidabad district in West Bengal. At least 50 passengers are feared to be trapped inside the bus, which was going from Karimpur to Malda.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee rushed to the spot along with transport minister Subhendu Adhikari and announced a compensation of Rs five lakh each to the bereaved families.
Expressing her grief over the accident, Banerjee announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh for those with serious injuries and Rs 50,000 for passengers with minor injuries.
Incident at Murshidabad is sad. I have asked my officials to take a note of the situation. I announce Rs 5 Lakh ex-gratia for the next of the kin of the deceased," news agency ANI quoted Banerjee as saying on its Twitter handle.

So far the bus could not be spotted in the river. Due to absence of trained divers, the rescue operation has been hit, locals claimed.
So far, only seven bodies, including a child, have been found from the river. The injured have been admitted to Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital here.
Preliminary probe reveals that due to dense fog, there was poor visibility. The bus driver, apparently, lost control over the vehicle.
A boat which was in the mid-stream began the rescue operation. Ten passengers who could manage to get out of the bus were rescued.
One of the rescued passengers claimed that the bus driver was speaking over his mobile phone when the accident took place.
Photo courtesy: Eisamay
Irked by delay in rescue operation, an enraged mob went on a rampage and torched two police jeeps and damaged a fire tender. A rapid action force has been deployed to control the situation.
Bengal transport minister Suvendu Adhikari and additional chief secretary (transport) Alapan Bandyopadhyay along with additional director general (traffic) have rushed to the spot in a helicopter from Kolkata after the chief minister instructed them to go to the spot to supervise the rescue operation.
National Disaster Rescue Force had also been asked to reach the spot from North 24-Parganas.