FAZILKA, Nov 27 — Two passengers were killed and 14 others injured when a Punjab Roadways bus and a scrap-laden truck collided head-on near Tahliwala village on Wednesday evening, officials said.
The bus, carrying nearly 40 passengers on its Sirsa–Fazilka route, was approaching the village around 7.30 pm when the truck came from the opposite direction on the single-lane stretch. The impact crushed the bus’s front, leaving the driver pinned to the steering column for almost 45 minutes.
Residents and passers-by reached before emergency teams and began pulling the injured from the wreckage. Police from Arniwala arrived soon after and summoned hydraulic cutters to free the trapped driver. A crane was deployed to clear the debris.
One victim was identified as Sonu, while the second is yet to be identified. “Two passengers died on the spot and 14 others have sustained injuries, several of them serious,” said senior superintendent of police Gurmeet Singh.
Doctors at Fazilka civil hospital said most survivors suffered multiple injuries. Dr Sunil, attending in the emergency ward, said one critically injured passenger had been referred to another facility.
Initial police assessment suggests darkness and poor visibility may have contributed to the crash. The truck was reportedly headed to Malout to pick up additional scrap. “Both vehicles have been impounded and a detailed investigation is underway,” the SSP said.
Officials said rescuers struggled to pull out the bus driver because the front frame had collapsed inward. “It took nearly an hour to cut through the metal and free him,” an official said. The driver remains under treatment at the civil hospital.
