Supaul, Bihar: A sleeper bus full of passengers met with an accident on NH-27 near Bhutaha-Jhitki in Madhubani district adjacent to Nirmali in Supaul district on Saturday morning. The bus going from the capital Patna to Sikti in Araria collided with a truck standing on NH-27. 20 passengers including the driver and the cleaner of the bus were injured in the accident. There was screaming on the spot after the accident. The condition of 7 people is said to be critical.

All the injured were brought to the hospital for treatment through ambulance with the help of local people and the personnel of the sub-divisional hospital Nirmali. Dr. Pradeep Kumar and other health workers present on duty here gave first aid to everyone. Out of these, 7 seriously injured people were referred to Sadar Hospital, Supaul for better treatment.

The accident happened on the four lane between Bhutaha-Jhitki in Madhubani district at around 6 am on Saturday. The injured passengers said that the accident happened due to the negligence of the bus owner and driver. The departure time of the bus from Patna is 5 pm, but the bus was sent at around 11 pm with the aim of increasing the number of passengers.

The bus conductor said that after the driver dozed off, the bus hit a truck parked on the roadside. Some children and elderly women are also among the injured. Most of the passengers are from Araria district and some are also from Patna, Chapra and Supaul.

The injured passengers include Jyoti Kumari (26), Kartik Kumar (7) of Karjain in Supaul, God Kumar (26), Pooja Kumari (25) of Araria and the seriously injured passengers include Rajendra Mahato (56), Suraj Kumar (28), a resident of Patna, Neeraj Prasad (35), a resident of Chhapra, MD Shahnaz (19), Paro Devi (60), Puniya Devi (60) of Araria and Ajay Kumar (29), a resident of Karjain.