AGARTALA, Feb 24 (TIWN): In yet another accident of a Tripura bound bus, one died on the spot while injuring thirteen others critically near Ratachara hill road under Meghalaya on Tuesday midnight.The incident occurred in the Ratachara hilly road at Meghalaya in the wee hours when all the passengers were asleep. The Agartala bound night super bus coming from Guwahati met with the fatal accident when the bus fell in a deep gorge leaving one died at the spot and at least 13 injured.The bus belonged to Sherowali tours and travels and was coming to Agartala from Guwahati and as soon as the bus reached Ratachara area, the driver lost control over the brakes of the bus and it fell into deep gorge killing one person on the spot.A source in Sherowali travels said that the incident took place at 2 am after the bus lost control over the brakes due to the poor condition of the road.

The rescue operation was immediately launched after the report of accident and investigation has begun to ascertain the cause of the accident and all possible steps have been taken to provide help to all injured persons, said the sources.

When contacted over phone, source in Sherowali tours and travels said that we have reports of one death and 13 injured, but cannot say anything in detail before reaching the spot of accident.

Sources added that more than 13 passengers were immediately shifted to nearby Community Health Centre. However, the identification of the deceased as well as the injured passengers is still awaited.

Though the identity of all the injured could not be ascertained but all the passengers including the deceased belonged to Tripura.

The source further said that the driver is out of reach and search is underway to nab the accused.

Rescue teams brought out the body which is yet to be identified, he said. It is to be mentioned here that the condition of these stretches of the road has become so bad that in some patches these have turned into virtual craters. In fact, the deplorable condition of the road leads to several accidents on every other day.

The deplorable condition of road, connecting India with the eastern part of Meghalaya, Barak Valley in Assam, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura has for a long time now remained a harrowing experience for helpless commuters.

However, the potholes on this highway are deep. Road users find it difficult to pass the distance and the journey time has become almost double because of the poor condition of the road, resulting in wastage of fuel at a time when fuel saving assumes importance. Car and two-wheeler users are the most affected. The bad condition of the roads results in many minor accidents and heavy traffic jam in several places.