2 more bodies found in river; death toll mounts to 8 in Meghalaya bus tragedy

Shillong: Rescuers recovered bodies of the two missing men from a river on Friday, taking the death toll in the bus accident in Meghalaya’s East Garo Hills district to eight, an official said.

The Meghalaya Transport Corporation bus, traveling from Tura in West Garo Hills district to state capital Shillong, broke the railing of a bridge and plunged into the Ringdi river at Nongchram in the early hours of Thursday.

Six bodies were found on Thursday while 16 others were injured.

“The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team recovered the first body at around 9 am and the second body in the afternoon. The death toll is now eight,” an SDRF statement said.

The night service bus was carrying 24 people and two of them were missing on Thursday. Search operation had resumed this morning for the two men.

After the two bodies were found on Friday, the operation was called off, the SDRF said.

Nine passengers from Tura and 12 from Williamnagar, the district headquarters of East Garo Hills, had boarded the bus.

The injured people are undergoing treatment at a hospital.