Seven killed, 40 hurt in Assam bus accidents

Guwahati, Feb 4 (IANS) At least seven people were killed and 40 others were injured in two separate bus accidents in Assam's Goalpara district on Tuesday, the police and the Army said.According to the police, five people were killed and 40 others were injured when a Guwahati bound bus fell into a gorge at Kutahuti village near Dhupdhara area.The speeding passenger bus from Dhubri skidded off the road and hit a roadside electric pole before it was overturned and fell into the ditch, killing five people on the spot. Another passenger died on the way to the hospital.Army troopers and police personnel rescued the injured passengers and shifted them to Guwahati Medical College and Hospital and Goalpara Civil Hospital.In another incident, a passenger bus, on its way to Goalpara from Guwahati, ran over a cyclist at Dudhnoi area in the same district, killing the man on the spot.The police have seized both the buses and took the drivers into custody.Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has condoled the death of the passengers and asked Goalpara Deputy Commissioner to provide all kind of aid to the injured people.
--IANS sc/arm