40 bus passengers trapped in flooded river in northern India

SHIMLA, India (AFP) Aug 30, 2003
About 40 people were marooned in the middle of a river near this north Indian hill resort Saturday when flash floods trapped their bus as it tried to cross the water, police said.

Twenty people could be seen on top of the bus with the rest trapped inside, police official Prem Kumar Thakur told AFP.

The Sarsa river was continuing to rise, gradually submerging the bus in the Nalagarh area of Solan district, 90 kilometres (56 miles) west of Shimla, capital of Himachal Pradesh state.

"The river is around 500 feet (152 metres) wide. Normally, it is shallow enough for and buses to cross it but today there were sudden flash floods which trapped this bus," Thakur said.

"Traditional means of rescuing the people are failing due to the width of the river and the floods. We have asked the state administration for a helicopter. Until it comes, we are not very hopeful," the officer said.

TERRA.WIRE