What happened here
A passenger bus travelling from Manendragarh to Kelhari hit a roadside tree on 22 October 2026 shortly after noon. Six people died and 20 to 40 were injured, depending on the report. Police and officials give different accounts of the cause. Later reports say the bus's fitness certificate lapsed in 2023, and the Korea transport officer was removed. Updated 26 October 2026.
Quick answers
What happened near Manendragarh on 22 October 2026?
A passenger bus going from Manendragarh to Kelhari hit a roadside tree at the Semarmathani turn, shortly after noon.
How many died and how many were injured?
Six died. The injured count differs by report, from 20 to 40; later reports say 37.
What caused the crash?
Not established. Police mention loss of control, an early probe points to brake failure, an eyewitness account says the steering failed, and overloading is alleged.
Did the bus have valid papers?
NPG News reports that its fitness and registration certificates lapsed on 19 June 2023; Dainik Bhaskar's headline agrees. We have not seen the records.
Has anyone been held responsible?
The state removed the Korea RTO. We found no report of an FIR being registered or an arrest through 26 October 2026.
What happened
On Thursday, 22 October 2026, shortly after noon, a passenger bus heading from Manendragarh towards Kelhari left the road and hit a roadside tree. The crash was at the Semarmathani turn, near Pahad Hanswahi, under Kelhari police station in Chhattisgarh’s Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur (MCB) district. Villagers reached the spot first and began pulling people out; police, health teams and ambulances followed. Police described the impact as so severe that the front of the bus was crushed and some passengers were trapped (ETV Bharat). Updated 26 October 2026.
How many died and how many were hurt
The death toll climbed through the afternoon: two were first reported, then five, and by evening Superintendent of Police Ratna Singh confirmed six. Every report we opened, up to 25 October, still says six. Police said four of the six were women (PTI via ThePrint); Xinhua and one Hindi report list two women and a girl, with three men. We do not name the dead.
The injured count is contested, so we show the range. The SP’s figures, as reported by PTI and ThePrint, were 40 hurt: about 20 seriously (the driver among them) and about 20 with minor injuries. ETV Bharat and Asianet quoted police for about 20, Xinhua for 25, and India TV, quoting the Manendragarh hospital superintendent, for 39. Later Hindi reports (Haribhoomi, NPG News, Janta Se Rishta, 24 to 25 October) say 37. The Statesman, NDTV and The Hindu headlines carry 32, 40 and 40, but we saw those only in news feeds and did not open the pages. Four people were reported critical; two serious cases were sent to Ambikapur and two to the Chirmiri district hospital, while the rest were treated at the Manendragarh civil hospital. We found no report of a seventh death.
Even the number on board differs: 46 (the SP, as quoted by PTI and Asianet), nearly 30 (ETV Bharat), more than 30 (Xinhua) and about 50 (NPG News). Reports also differ on the driver and the owner. Patrika and CG Khabar say the driver died, and TBS News says the bus owner was among the dead. PTI’s report, by contrast, counts the driver among the seriously injured. We could not settle this and do not identify either person.
What was the cause
No official cause has been announced. These are the accounts, with who said them.
- Driver lost control. The SP, per PTI, said the driver appeared to have lost control, based on what an injured passenger told police. PTI calls this a prima facie view.
- Brake failure. ETV Bharat’s English report says an initial probe pointed to sudden brake failure on a downhill curve near Hanswahi hill. India TV Hindi and TimeTV also call brake failure the preliminary reading. Asianet quoted the SP, citing eyewitnesses and local people, as saying the steering failed. That is a different fault from the brakes.
- Overloading. India TV Hindi says police accepted that the minibus carried more people than its permitted capacity. NPG News says the bus had 25 seats and about 50 people packed in, and that it was a former school bus. These are reports, not findings; no official passenger count has been published.
- Road and overtaking. One local report mentions a narrow road and an overtaking attempt as possible factors. We could not confirm this anywhere else.
The SHO of Kelhari police station told ETV Bharat the exact cause will be known only when the investigation is complete.
The bus’s papers
Three days later the bus’s documents became part of the story. NPG News (25 October), saying the Transport Department supplied the vehicle details, reports that the bus was registered in August 2009, so it was about 17 years old (the report itself says 17 years 9 months, which does not add up from that date). Its fitness certificate and registration certificate both lapsed on 19 June 2023, more than three years before the crash. The pollution certificate had been lapsed since 31 May 2026, and insurance was valid until March 2027. The report adds that the bus had earlier carried schoolchildren, and that commercial vehicles are treated as condemned after 15 years. Dainik Bhaskar’s Ambikapur edition carries a matching headline, that the bus was running without fitness and RC; we could read only the headline because the page sits behind a subscription wall. We have not seen the transport records ourselves, and no report we found gave the permit or tax position.
Response, action and compensation
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai announced Rs 5 lakh for the family of each person who died and Rs 50,000 for each injured passenger. ETV Bharat Hindi (23 October) adds Rs 25,000 per family for last rites and a further Rs 10,000 for each seriously injured patient. Former MLA Gulab Kamro has demanded Rs 1 crore for each bereaved family and Rs 10 lakh for each injured person; we found no government reply. Health Minister Shyam Bihari Jaiswal, who is the local MLA, visited the hospitals and the families and told doctors to leave no gap in treatment.
On 23 October the Transport Department started checking passenger buses: three seized and four challaned so far, according to News18 Hindi, which does not say why. Around 24 October the state removed the Korea district Regional Transport Officer from his post and attached him to the Transport Commissioner’s office in Nava Raipur, after the Health Minister spoke to the Transport Commissioner (Haribhoomi, NPG News; the Bhaskar headline agrees). NPG News gives negligence as the reason and ties it to the lapsed documents; the others say only that the department’s oversight was questioned.
On the legal side, the SP said an FIR would be lodged and action taken against anyone found guilty. Through 26 October we found no report that an FIR has been registered, that anyone has been arrested, or that a magisterial or technical inquiry has been ordered, and nothing on the owner’s position. If the owner did die in the crash, as some reports say, action against the operator becomes harder, which makes the transport records more important.
Why this matters
A bus reported to have had no valid fitness certificate for over three years, a vehicle about 17 years old and a former school bus, more people aboard than seats, and a downhill curve with trees at the edge of the road. None of these is a confirmed cause, but together they match a pattern we have covered: Natore in Bangladesh (fitness certificate lapsed for five months), the overloaded bus on Orsa Ghati near Mahuadanr, and the Belapur bus pile-up, where brake failure is being investigated. Our note on bus crashes in India and South Asia covers the wider picture.
Lessons for readers
- Do not board a crowded bus if you can wait for the next one. A bus with 25 seats and about 50 people cannot stop or turn as it was built to. Standing passengers are thrown first.
- Look at the bus. An old minibus with worn tyres or a loose steering feel is a warning. If you ride a route regularly, note the registration number and check the vehicle on the Vahan service, or ask the RTO about its fitness.
- Hill sections and sharp downhill curves need a low gear and slow speed. Riding the brakes downhill makes them fade. Passengers can ask the driver to slow down; our passenger’s guide shows how to say it and when to get off.
- Operators and owners: a lapsed fitness certificate is a legal violation, not a paperwork delay. Keep the vehicle off the road until it is tested, and do not put a retired school bus on a public route without a fresh check.
- If the bus is not full, keep the aisle clear and hold the seat in front on curves. Use a belt wherever one is fitted.
- If you reach a crash first, call 112 and 108, keep traffic away, do not move someone with a neck or back injury unless there is fire or another immediate danger, and follow our witness guide.
If you travel in Chhattisgarh
Dial 112 for police, fire and ambulance and 108 for an ambulance. Our state-wise helpline list has the Chhattisgarh disaster control room numbers. Save the bus operator’s number and send the registration number and your seat to a family member before a long trip.
More on Manendragarh: see our fire and emergency safety guide for emergency numbers, the fire stations and the local risks to know.
What is still not known
We do not know the cause: brakes, steering, driver error, overloading or something else. We do not know who was driving or whether the driver survived, how many people were on board, the final injury count, whether an FIR has been filed, or what the owner’s position is. Also unclear is what the transport records show beyond the lapsed fitness and registration. The toll could be restated if an injured person dies. We will update this page when police, the district administration or the Transport Department publish a finding. Last checked 26 October 2026.
- The bus leaves the Manendragarh-Kelhari road at the Semarmathani turn and hits a tree
- Villagers start rescue; police and ambulances arrive; deaths reported as 2, then 5
- SP confirms 6 dead; the Chief Minister announces Rs 5 lakh and Rs 50,000 compensation
- Health Minister visits hospitals and families; Transport Department starts a drive, 3 buses seized and 4 challaned
- The Korea RTO is removed and attached to the Transport Commissioner's office in Nava Raipur
- A report says the bus's fitness and registration lapsed on 19 June 2023 and that it was about 17 years old
Why consequences escalated
- A passenger minibus hit a roadside tree on a downhill curve of the Manendragarh-Kelhari road; six died.
- The injured count ranges from 20 to 40 by source; the latest reports say 37.
- The cause is contested: driver loss of control, brake failure and steering failure are all reported, with overloading alleged.
- The bus is reported to have had no valid fitness or registration certificate since June 2023.
- The state removed the Korea RTO; no FIR, arrest or inquiry report found through 26 October.
Failures and risk multipliers
- A bus running with lapsed fitness and registration certificates for over three years (reported, from transport records quoted by NPG News).
- A 25-seat bus reported to carry about 50 people (single report; police reportedly accepted overloading).
- A former school bus about 17 years old in public passenger service.
- Fast driving on a downhill curve, with brake or steering failure suspected (not confirmed).
- Lapses at the transport office that let the bus run, per the state's action against the RTO (reason given by one outlet).
Actions that reduce risk
- Check the bus's fitness and registration on Vahan or with the RTO if you use it regularly.
- Do not board a crowded bus; wait for the next one.
- Tell the driver to slow down on hill curves, and get off if he does not.
- Operators must withdraw buses whose fitness has lapsed and stop overloading.
- In an emergency call 112, and 108 for an ambulance.
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