PRAYAGRAJ, Jan. 14 -- A major accident was narrowly avoided on Wednesday when the driver of a tourist sleeper bus fell asleep at the wheel. The bus, travelling from Jaipur to Varanasi, lost control and the vehicle skidded off the highway in Pratapgarh district.

The Mahalakshmi Travels Volvo sleeper bus was carrying around 25 passengers. At approximately 12 noon, near Tiwari Pur village under the Manikpur police station jurisdiction on the Prayagraj-Lucknow Highway, the bus veered off the highway into the unpaved roadside area and came to a slanted halt. Fortunately, it did not overturn, preventing a potentially more serious tragedy.

However, a 45-year-old woman passenger, Chinta Devi, wife of Nandlal Chauhan from Malda village in Ballia...