A shocking tumble in Banga
In the early hours of Monday, a Volvo tourist coach transporting 41 travelers from Manali to Amritsar lost control on a flyover close to Mazari village and fell onto the service road below. The incident, which occurred around 4:40 a.m., sent tremors through the quiet town of Banga, Punjab.
Fatalities and the injured
The crash claimed the lives of four individuals, among them Josna George, a student from Kerala studying at Lovely Professional University, chartered accountant Vishal Rattu of Amritsar, and Aditya Gautam from Ludhiana. The identity of the fourth victim is still being verified.
Sixteen passengers sustained serious injuries and were rushed to nearby hospitals. Police later transferred the most critical cases to better‑equipped facilities in Banga. The remaining 21 occupants escaped with minor or no injuries and were escorted from the scene with their luggage intact.
Rescue effort and police action
Banga DSP Harjit Singh Randhawa led the first responders, who arrived within minutes of the emergency call. Rescue teams forced open the mangled vehicle, extracted trapped travelers, and secured personal belongings. The injured were loaded onto ambulances and taken to medical centres, while the bodies of Josna George and Vishal Rattu were handed over to their families after post‑mortems. The other remains are stored at the Shivpuri Baba Gola mortuary.
Driver detained and probe begun
Police have taken the driver, Vivek Kumar of Sharna village, Balh (Ratti) in Himachal Pradesh, into custody. A case has been registered against him under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, with investigators examining whether fatigue, mechanical failure or other negligence caused the bus to veer off the flyover.
Authorities are reviewing CCTV footage, eyewitness testimonies, and the bus’s maintenance records to reconstruct the chain of events that led to the tragic fall.
Aftermath and calls for reform
Banga’s residents remain in mourning as families await further information. The accident has reignited demands for stricter safety inspections of tourist coaches and stricter driver‑alertness measures on high‑speed corridors.
