24 killed as bus plunges into deep gorge in India

KABUL (Pajhwok): At least 24 people were killed and several others went missing as a poorly maintained bus veered off the road and plunged into a deep gorge in northern India on Monday, a media report said.

The accident occurred in Almora district in the mountainous state of Uttarakhand, Associated Press reported.

The bus was carrying 42 people and 24 bodies have been recovered, said Vineet Pal, a state government official.

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.

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.

kk/ma