Bus crashes into Himalayan gorge in northern India, killing at least 36 people | Traffic news

The accident occurred in Marchula area of ​​Almora district in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.

At least 36 people died and several others were injured after a bus plunged into a deep ravine in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, officials and Indian media reported.

State Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the accident occurred on Monday in the Marchula area of ​​Almora district in the Indian Himalayas.

“The district administration has been instructed to carry out relief and rescue operations quickly,” he wrote on X.

Vineet Pal, a senior official, told reporters that 36 people were killed in the accident, adding that some of the injured were flown out for special treatment.

The bus was coming from Garhwal district in northern Uttarakhand and was on its way to Ramnagar. There were at least 42 passengers on board the vehicle, Devendra Pincha, a local police officer, told Reuters.

Photos released by government rescue teams showed the crumpled wreckage of the bus in thick undergrowth, with the deformed front of the vehicle crushed almost flat.

A human chain of volunteers lined the steep slopes and crossed a rushing river, helping to pull the wounded from the remains of the bus. Bodies were carried out and placed in the back of a truck.

Pal said a preliminary investigation showed the bus skidded before plunging down a 60-meter (200-foot) ravine. Some passengers managed to escape or were thrown from the bus by the impact and subsequently alerted authorities about the accident.

In a post on X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his deepest condolences to those who lost their loved ones in the unfortunate road accident.

Modi's office said in a statement that the families of those killed would receive 200,000 rupees ($2,380) in assistance, while those injured would receive 50,000 rupees ($595).

Road accidents are common on the many mountain roads in the Himalayan region, mostly due to aging vehicles, poor road maintenance and reckless driving in winding terrain. Hundreds of thousands of people are killed and injured every year.

Recent incidents include 18 people who died in July after a double-decker bus collided with a milk truck in the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh. In May, a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims skidded and rolled into a deep ravine on a mountainous highway in Indian-administered Kashmir, killing at least 21 people.