27 dead in bus accident, minister says no casualties, all safe

Motihari (Bihar): A day after it was reported that 27 people had died after a bus fell into a ditch and caught fire in Bihar's Motihari, the state's Disaster Management Minister, Dinesh Chandra Yadav, on Friday delivered a shocker. He said there were no casualties in the accident.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had expressed their grief over the accident and assured all possible help to the families of the deceased.

However, Dinesh Chandra Yadav told news agency ANI, "The information of deaths was wrong. Yes, I said 27 people have died, it was based on information from local sources, but I also said that only the final report will be considered."

He added that only 13 passengers had boarded the bus. Eight of them were taken to the hospital, but there was no sign of the remaining five. "No bodies were found. They might have left the spot on their own," he said.

The mishap happened around 3 pm on Thursday afternoon when the driver of the bus attempted to avoid a crash with a two-wheeler and overturned. It fell into a pit and caught fire near Belwa village of Bihar's west Champaran district.