Patna, Feb 26 (IANS) One person was killed and 21 others injured after an errant truck rammed into a bus carrying pilgrims in Bihar’s Rohtas district on Thursday.

The accident occurred at around 3 a.m. near Jamuhar on National Highway-19 under the jurisdiction of the Dehri Mufassil police station.

According to police, the truck struck the bus from the side multiple times and dragged it for nearly two kilometres before fleeing the scene, leaving the passengers injured and the vehicle badly damaged.

An elderly passenger died on the spot, while all other passengers sustained injuries in the incident and were immediately rushed for medical attention.

Confirming the incident, the Station House Officer (SHO) of the Dehri Mufassil police station said a police patrol vehicle was already present on the highway and reached the spot immediately after receiving information about the accident.

“Our patrolling vehicle was on National Highway-19. As soon as we learnt about the accident, our team rushed to the spot and rescued the victims,” said the SHO of the Dehri Mufassil police station.

Bus driver Sonu Kumar said the truck repeatedly rammed the bus and did not stop despite passengers screaming for help and attempting to alert the truck driver.

“A truck was travelling ahead of us. It hit the bus three times from the side and dragged us for about two kilometres. There were 22 people on board,” Sonu Kumar said.

All the passengers were pilgrims from Tamil Nadu who had flown to Varanasi and were on their way to Gaya as part of a religious pilgrimage.

The group belonged to the Gayatri Parivar and hailed from the Adamba and Alampur areas of Tamil Nadu, police said.

There were 22 passengers in the bus, including nine women and one child, and all of them sustained injuries in the crash, except the elderly passenger who succumbed to his injuries at the scene.

“We heard a loud sound, and suddenly the bus was being pulled by a truck. Everyone was injured. An elderly person died in the accident,” said Srilata, an injured pilgrim.

The deceased was identified as Ramo, a resident of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu, and his identity was confirmed through documents recovered by police.

His body is being sent to Sasaram for post-mortem examination in accordance with legal procedures, police officials said.

All injured passengers have been admitted to Narayan Medical College and Hospital for treatment, where doctors said their condition is being monitored.

Police have informed the deceased’s family and launched a search operation to trace the absconding truck and its driver, and further investigation into the incident is underway.

–IANS

ajk/pgh