Himachal school bus accident due to human error, says inquiry report

DHARAMSHALA: One of the biggest tragedies of this year so far in state, the

school bus accident

on April 9 that killed about 28, including 24 children in 12 years of age or below, happened due to

human error

, the magisterial

inquiry report

has stated. The incident had taken place in Nurpur area of Kangra in Himachal Pradesh.


The inquiry, conducted by ADM Mast Ram Bharadwaj, concluded that the error was on the part of 67-year-old driver Madan Lal. The report, submitted to Kangra deputy commissioner Sandeep Kumar, has held that the driver was out focused due to noise being made by students and was looking back or had dosed off.

Scattered wreckage of the school bus shows it came down with pressure.

This report had rejected the theories of the villagers and kin of deceased who were blaming the poor condition of road for the accident. It was said that a truck had met with an accident at the same place in the month of March, but the PWD authorities did not take any action to repair the dark spot.

BJP MLA from Nurpur Rakesh Pathania said that the parents of the deceased children were not agreeing with the magisterial inquiry. “Parents were demanding a separate high level inquiry. This would be conveyed to the government,” he said.

Families had also demanded action against the contractor and PWD staff in this case.

Also, the viscera report of driver of the bus has not found any traces of alcohol in the intestine of the deceased driver. Further magisterial inquiry had not found any mechanical fault in the school bus.

The spot of erosion from where bus rolled down to the bottom of the hill.