Chinsurah (WB), Dec 14 (PTI) A woman was killed and several others were injured on Wednesday after a bus with at least 70 people onboard fell into a roadside ditch in West Bengal's Hooghly district, police said.

The accident occurred around 4.30 am in Illahipur area on the state highway -26 when the driver lost control over the bus and the passenger vehicle overturned after falling into the ditch, said a senior officer of the Haripal Police Station.

Also Read | Caste-Based Census To Be Conducted? Here’s What Modi Government Said on Caste-Wise Population Enumeration.

Tapasi Halder, aged 50, died in the accident and almost all the passengers were injured and taken to a nearby rural hospital by locals and policemen from Haripal and Chanditala police stations, state minister Becharam Manna said.

“Of the injured people, the condition of 12 was critical and they were referred to hospitals in Kolkata,” he said.

Also Read | Lulu Group To Open Six More Shopping Malls, One Hotel in Uttar Pradesh; State Government Signs MoU With Retail Giant.

The passengers had gone for a trip from Raidighi to Ayodhya Hills in Purulia district on Monday and the accident happened while they were returning, the officer said.

The driver apparently dozed off at the wheels, leading to the accident, and soon after, he fled the spot, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)