PATNA: At least 13 people died, while 22 others were injured, when a bus and a van collided head-on in Katihar district on Saturday evening. The incident occurred on National Highway-31 near Gerabari village under Kodha police station area of the district.The police team immediately reached the spot and sent the injured to nearby hospitals for treatment.Following the accident, CM Nitish Kumar announced an ex gratia of Rs2 lakh each for the victims’ families and Rs50,000 for the injured persons.Police said eight people were killed on the spot, while five succumbed to their injuries during treatment at Katihar Sadar Hospital.They said a massive collision between a bus and a van resulted in the accident. People from the tribal community were in the van, which was returning from Jharkhand via Naugachia, en route to Purnia. Meanwhile, a bus coming from Purnia to Naugachia hit the van coming from the opposite direction.Kodha SHO Sujeet Kumar said, “The injured passengers alleged that the driver of the bus was drunk, and he hit one or two places along the journey. As soon as the bus reached near Datpur Musahari Chowk, it collided head-on with the van coming from the opposite direction. The impact was so severe that two bikes passing nearby also got caught in it. Chaos erupted at the spot after the accident. However, there was no proof of intoxication of the bus driver. He is also injured.”Local villagers and police immediately engaged in relief and rescue operations. The injured were rushed to nearby hospitals. The bodies of the deceased were sent to Katihar Sadar Hospital for postmortem, said the SHO.“Around 35-40 people, all residents of Purnia, were travelling in the van, out of whom 13 died. They were returning to their homes from Jharkhand,” the SHO added.
