Khargone (MP), Aug 21 (PTI) A major tragedy was averted when a bus carrying over 50 college students from Maharashtra narrowly escaped falling into a gorge after suffering a sudden brake failure at a dangerous turn in Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh, police said.
The incident, in which nobody was injured, occurred in the Jam Gate ghat section under the Mandleshwar police station limits around 7 pm, a police official said.
The brakes of the bus failed at a dangerous turn, causing the driver to lose control. As a result, the vehicle broke the roadside railing and ended up hanging at its mouth over the gorge, eyewitnesses said.
The students on board the bus were from Maharashtra and had come to attend a seminar at IIT Indore. After the seminar, they were travelling from Indore to Maheshwar via Jam Gate. But the bus veered off the road after its brakes failed suddenly at a dangerous turn in the ghat below Jam Gate, he added.
Fortunately, a mound of stones on the roadside prevented the bus from falling into the gorge. Had the bus continued a few feet further, a major accident could have occurred, the official said.
As the bus slid over the gorge, the students panicked and screamed.
After learning about the incident, villagers and passersby rushed to the scene and immediately began rescue operations. They safely evacuated all the students through the emergency exit, the eyewitnesses said.
No students were reported injured in the incident.
Mandleshwar police station in-charge Pankaj Tiwari and the Dial-112 team also arrived at the scene.
All the students were safely transported to Maheshwar in private vehicles. Currently, the students are being provided food and shelter by the administration at the Dharamshala located at Madhav Gaushala. A crane has been called to pull the stranded bus.
Tiwari said that the brakes of the bus suddenly failed at the Jam Gate, causing it to lose control and break the railing and hang over the gorge. PTI COR MAS NP
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