Udhagamandalam, Tamil Nadu:
Around 25 passengers had a miraculous escape when a bus overshot a parapet wall on a ghat road and its front portion hung precariously in air over a 300-feet deep gorge.
The driver of the state-owned transport corporation bus lost control and hit the parapet wall after the central axle rod of the vehicle snapped on Manjoor road near Parali in Tamil Nadu's hilly Nilgiris District, police said.
However, the bus, proceeding to Manjoor from Coimbatore, came to a halt after the broken axle hit the wall leading to the front portion of the bus hanging in air. The passengers and driver moved cautiously towards the rear side and got down safely.
Had the bus not come to a halt, it could have plunged into the 300 feet deep gorge, resulting in many casualties, they added.
Transport officials were making efforts to retrieve the bus.