Ferozepur, Nov. 27 -- Two passengers died and 14 others were injured when a Punjab Roadways bus travelling from Sirsa to Fazilka collided head-on with a scrap-laden truck in Fazilka on Wednesday evening, officials said. According to information, the bus, carrying nearly 40 passengers, was nearing Tahliwala village around 7.30 pm when the truck approached from the opposite direction on the single-lane road. The impact was so severe that the bus driver remained pinned to the steering column for nearly 45 minutes. Residents and passers-by rushed to the site even before emergency services arrived, helping pull injured passengers out of the mangled bus and shifting them to the Fazilka civil hospital. Police from Arniwala reached soon after and called for hydraulic cutters to free the trapped driver by cutting open the bus's front portion. A crane was also deployed to remove the wreckage from the road. One of the deceased was identified as Sonu, while the identity of the second victim is yet to be established. As many as fourteen others sustained serious injuries, said officials. All injured were rushed to Fazilka civil hospital. Dr Sunil, attending the emergency ward, said one of the critically injured persons had been referred to another medical facility. Initial police findings indicate that the truck, loaded with scrap, was on its way to Malout to pick up more material. Police suspect darkness and poor visibility may have prevented the truck driver from noticing the bus in time, resulting in the fatal collision. "Two passengers died on the spot and 14 others have sustained injuries, several of them serious," said senior superintendent of police Gurmeet Singh. "Both vehicles have been impounded and a detailed investigation is underway," the SSP said. Officials said the bus driver was wedged tightly in the steering area....