DEHRADUN: Initial probe findings into Sunday's tragic Uttarkashi bus accident has revealed, according to police officers involved in the investigation, that the 46-year-old driver of the ill-fated vehicle that crashed into a deep gorge killing 26 pilgrims in it, was "overspeeding". Also that the driver "probably jumped off when he realised that the bus was about to plunge and there was nothing that he could do about it", said a senior officer privy to the probe.
Sharing some of the findings, the officer, requesting anonymity, told TOI, "It was a major accident. But we found that the driver, Hira Singh, has virtually no injuries on his body, some scratches here and there. This suggests that he may have jumped out of the moving bus. His helper, seated close by, did not survive."
Uttarkashi SP Arpan Yaduvanshi also pointed out the possibility of "human error". The SP added: "A probe has been ordered. More can be said about the accident once the investigations are complete."
Prima facie it points towards the driver's negligence, another police officer said on Monday. The bus driver, a resident of Pithoragarh district, is currently undergoing treatment along with three other survivors.
The officer further said that the place where the accident took place is a wide paved road, not a treacherous terrain.
Nothing wrong found with bus: Uttarkashi SP
The findings also suggest that he (the driver) was overspeeding. Speed limit on this particular road stretch is 40 kmph," he said.
Ruling out the possibility that the driver may have dozed off while driving, he said, "It was about 7pm and not late at night. The bus had already taken a halt for a brief rest at a roadside hotel in Damta before continuing with the journey. There was nothing wrong with the bus either. The vehicle had all required documents and a valid fitness certificate." Meanwhile, Hira Singh claimed before the authorities that he tried to give way to a vehicle coming from the opposite direction by turning the bus towards the hillside "but the steering got locked and the bus veered away, into the gorge".
The bus was carrying 28 pilgrims from Panna in Madhya Pradesh. The accident took place near Damta on the Yamunotri national highway.
