36 dead after dilapidated bus skids into Himalayan ravine in India

This handout photograph taken on November 4, 2024 and released by the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) Uttarakhand shows people at the site of a bus accident, after it fell into a gorge at Almora district in India's Uttarakhand state. (Photo/AFP)

A poorly maintained bus veered off the road and plunged into a deep Himalayan ravine in northern India on Monday, killing at least 36 passengers and injuring several others, officials said.

The accident occurred in Almora district in the mountainous state of Uttarakhand.

The bus was carrying around 60 people, and more than 20 have been injured, said Deepak Rawat, a senior state government official. Authorities said earlier they believed there were 42 passengers, which was how many people the bus could accommodate.

"So far, 36 casualties have been confirmed," Rawat told reporters. "Three critically injured have been sent to hospital using a helicopter."

Photographs released by government rescue teams showed the crumpled wreckage of the bus in thick undergrowth, with the twisted front of the vehicle squashed nearly flat.

Teams of rescue and relief workers were deployed to the site and authorities said the death toll may rise as they work to rescue passengers who may still be trapped inside.

The state’s chief minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, said the teams are working to quickly evacuate the injured passengers to the nearest health center for treatment and that authorities have been instructed to airlift those seriously hurt.

The state government has opened an investigation into the accident, a state government official Vineet Pall said, adding that preliminary information suggested that the dilapidated bus skidded before tumbling down a 60 metre-deep gorge.

A number of passengers managed to escape or were thrown out by the impact, and then alerted authorities about the accident.

A human chain of volunteers lined the steep slopes, and across a rushing river, helping pull out the wounded from the remains of the bus. Dead bodies were carried out and laid on the back of a truck.

The Prime Minister has announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF for the next of kin of each deceased in the mishap in Almora, Uttarakhand. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000. https://t.co/KAjq9Agj8i
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 4, 2024

Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his "deepest condolences to those who have 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 support, while those injured would get 50,000 ($595).

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said he had ordered an investigation into the accident, which took place in forested hills near the town of Almora.

Pal said that two transport officials have been suspended for approving a bus that was in poor condition.

India has some of the highest road death rates in the world, with hundreds of thousands of people killed and injured annually. Most crashes are blamed on reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and aging vehicles.

In July, at least 18 people died after a double-decker passenger bus collided with a milk truck in Uttar Pradesh state. In May, a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims skidded and rolled into a deep gorge on a mountainous highway in India-administered Kashmir, killing at least 21 people.

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Source: TRT