Police officers blamed buses belonging to private operators and their reckless untrained drivers for most of the fatal accidents in the state.

Director General of Police G.S. Gill said: 'The department has identified 556 accident-prone spots, including 210 on national highways, in the state. We are taking measures along with the public works department to minimise the accidents.'

Twentythree people died Tuesday in an accident near Sundernagar town in Mandi district on Chandigarh-Manali National Highway-21. The ill-fated private mini bus was coming to Sundernagar from Bilaspur town when it fell into a gorge.

Ramesh Sharma, an injured passenger, said the overspeeding bus was descending a steep gradient when it skidded off the road and rolled down the gorge. 'The bus driver probably lost control at a hairpin bend,' he said.

Deputy Commissioner (Mandi) Onkar Sharma said overspeeding was the primary reason for the accident. 'The exact cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained and a magisterial probe has been ordered,' he told IANS.

According to police records, around 8,000 people were killed in the past 10 years in road accidents in the state.

Accidental deaths numbered an all-time high of 979 in 2,955 accidents in 2007. Last year, 581 people were killed in road mishaps.