Forty eight killed in fatal bus accident in northern India

Chief Minister of Uttarakhand state Trivendra Rawat said the overcrowded bus fell into a 700-foot (213-metre) deep gorge in the Himalayan foothills.

This grab made from video provided by KK Production shows an injured arriving to Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, northern India, Sunday, July 1, 2018. At least 48 people were killed on Sunday when an overcrowded bus plunged off a mountain road into a gorge in northern India, officials said.
AP

This grab made from video provided by KK Production shows an injured arriving to Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, northern India, Sunday, July 1, 2018. At least 48 people were killed on Sunday when an overcrowded bus plunged off a mountain road into a gorge in northern India, officials said.

Forty eight people were killed and eleven injured when an overcrowded bus spun off a slippery road and fell into a deep ravine in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand on Sunday morning, police said.

"It was a 28-seater bus but was carrying 59 passengers," said a police official at the office of senior superintendent of police from the local area called Pauri where the accident took place. He declined to be identified since he was not authorised to speak to the media.

"It looks like due to overcapacity and bad road conditions, the bus toppled off."

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Rescue operations are complete and police are trying to get the dead bodies identified by relatives and friends, the police official said.

The cause of the incident has yet to be ascertained, Sushil Kumar, a senior official in the district administration told Anadolu Agency. “The incident will be investigated. Our priority at present is to provide medical assistance to the injured ones,” he added.

Inquiry ordered

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted saying he was "extremely saddened by the bus accident in Pauri Garhwal" while Uttarakhand state Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has ordered an inquiry into the accident. 

“My deepest condolences to the bereaved families. I pray that those injured recover at the earliest. Rescue operations are underway and authorities are providing all possible assistance at the accident site,” Modi wrote on Twitter.

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Uttarakhand, which is the Himalayan state of India, recorded 1591 road accidents in 2016, according to Indian Ministry of Road Transport and Highways report released in 2017.

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