Six people died and at least 22 were injured when a bus plunged into a 100-metre-deep gorge in the mountainous Indian state of Uttarakhand.
The tragedy occurred on Sunday evening in the Dahalchauri area of Pauri Garhwal district after the driver lost control, the State Disaster Response Force said,
At least eight people were critically injured and they were referred to a hospital in Srinagar city for treatment.
Visuals showed the wreckage of the yellow bus lying in a deep wooded valley surrounded by towering mountains. Rescuers and local residents had to navigate steep slopes to bring out the wounded.
Pauri district magistrate Ashish Chauhan said the transport department would investigate the cause of the accident.
Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed sadness over the tragedy and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.
#BreakingNews | 5 killed, 17 injured after bus loses control, overturns in #Pauri Garwhal district of #Uttarakhand.More details awaited pic.twitter.com/2OEFMBNe3q
— The Bharat Current (@thbharatcurrent) January 12, 2025
“Relief and rescue operations are underway by the local administration and the injured are being treated at the nearest hospital,” Mr Dhami said.
Private and government buses remain a common mode of transport for local people as well as tourists from other states in India. They are often overcrowded, however, and the drivers are known to flout safety rules.
On 4 December last year, at least 36 people died and 27 were injured after a bus fell into a gorge in the state’s Almora district. It was the deadliest in the hill state since July 2018, when 48 people lost their lives in Pauri Garhwal.
Nearly 160,000 people lose their lives to road accidents in India every year, the highest in the world, as people routinely violate traffic and safety rules.
