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Dozens of people have been reported dead in northern India after a bus plunged off a mountain road into a gorge about 200 meters deep.
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"The bus lost control and swerved off the road, into a deep valley. It broke into two pieces on impact and it is now in a small river at the bottom of the valley," disaster management official Deepesh Chandra Kala told AFP news agency.
At least 48 people are believed to have died following the accident near the Himalayan foothills, according to the chief minister of Uttarakhand state, Trivendra Rawat. Police officials said the 28-seater bus was carrying about 60 commuters.
“People were packed like sardines,” police officer, Jagat Ram Joshi, said, adding that at least seven of the injured were in a critical condition. Police official Manoj Kumar confirmed that rescuers had indeed recovered some 48 bodies.
India's Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi's office tweeted that the PM was "extremely saddened" by the news of the deaths.
Extremely saddened by the bus accident in Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand. 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: PM
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 1, 2018
The cause of the accident remains unknown, but police officer Sanjay Gunjiyal reported that “it is raining since morning. Two days back there was a landslide in that area.” Gunjiyal also said three choppers are waiting for clearance to evacuate the injured to the state’s capital, Dehradun.
Authorities further explained that a rain-drenched road surface was likely responsible for the vehicle's demise.
India's annual road deaths are some 150,000 people, the worst road traffic numbers in the world. About 480,000 road accidents took place in 2016, Al Jazeera reports. Some 1.2 million Indians were killed in car accidents between 2004-2014.
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