Three killed, more than 20 hurt as PRTC bus hits flyover wall in Sangrur

A Punjab Roadways bus run by the state-owned Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) crashed into the wall of a flyover at Sangrur in the early hours of Wednesday, November 11, 2026. Three passengers were killed and more than 20 were injured, according to police.

The bus was on its way from Dhuri in Sangrur district to Chandigarh. The crash happened at about 4:30 am, shortly after the bus set off, on the Bathinda-Chandigarh national highway stretch near the flyover close to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s residence in the town.

What happened on the road

Eyewitnesses told reporters at the scene that the bus first hit a pole supporting the flyover, then left the road and struck a tree. The windscreens were shattered. Residents of the area reached the bus before the emergency services and began pulling passengers out, working alongside the police and the district administration.

The injured were taken by ambulance to Sangrur Civil Hospital. Doctors there referred 15 of them to Government Rajindra Hospital in Patiala for specialist care. The rest stayed in Sangrur, where scans and tests were being carried out. The bodies of the three dead were sent to the civil hospital mortuary for post-mortem examination.

The number of injured has been counted differently through the day, from 18 in early reports to 24 in the police account and 26 in later ones, as passengers were registered at more than one hospital. Names and ages of the dead had not been released when this report was written.

The cause: clear weather, early signs of speed

The crash did not happen in fog. A police officer, Mehar Singh, said the weather was clear and there was no fog at the time. Preliminary information from police and passengers’ accounts suggest the bus was moving at high speed and the driver lost control. Police have begun a detailed inquiry, and no official finding on the cause has been made. The driver’s identity and condition had not been made public.

Wednesday, November 11, 2026

1. About 4:30 amThe PRTC bus hits the flyover wall, then a tree, in Sangrur.
2. MorningInjured taken to Sangrur Civil Hospital; 15 referred to Rajindra Hospital, Patiala.
3. MorningChief Minister Mann posts his condolences and orders free treatment.
4. AfternoonCongress leader Vijay Inder Singla visits the injured in Patiala.

Reactions

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann called the accident very distressing in a post on X, in Punjabi. He said three lives had been lost and that 15 of the 24 injured had been referred to Patiala for better treatment. He said the administration had been instructed to arrange free treatment for everyone hurt, and prayed for the departed. His post did not announce any payment to the families of the dead, and none had been announced by the time of writing.

Punjab Congress president Pargat Singh also expressed grief. Vijay Inder Singla, a senior Congress leader and former minister, went to Rajindra Hospital and Amar Hospital in Patiala to see the injured. Singla said he had spoken to the doctors and that every possible support should be given for the treatment and recovery of the passengers.

How this compares with recent crashes

Sangrur district saw another deadly road accident last month. On October 18, a speeding car ran into MGNREGA workers resting by the Lehragaga-Jakhal road near Alisher village. The Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, expressed grief over the deaths, and Mann announced ₹2 lakh ex-gratia for each family and full treatment for the injured. The driver in that case had fled. Our earlier report on Rahul Gandhi’s rally at Phaguwala covers the district’s recent political events.

What it means for the injured and the families

For the injured, the immediate effect is Mann’s instruction that treatment is free at government and associated facilities, with the most serious cases already moved to Patiala. For the families of the dead, the open question is compensation: the state announced ₹2 lakh for each family after the October 18 accident, but no figure had been announced for this crash.

What happens next

Police will complete post-mortems and hand the bodies to families. The inquiry into the cause, including whether the bus was over-speeding, is under way. The injured in Patiala will be monitored by doctors at Rajindra Hospital; the hospital has not given an update on any of the critical cases. Mann’s office has not said whether a magisterial inquiry will be ordered.