Overcrowded bus plunges into 213-metre gorge in India, killing at least 48 people
Police say bad weather could have caused bus to skid off the road
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.
Chief Minister of Uttarakhand state Trivendra Rawat said the bus fell into a 213-metre-deep gorge in the Himalayan foothills. He said about a dozen other people were injured and hospitalised.
Police official Manoj Kumar said rescuers recovered 48 bodies from the accident site.
“People were packed like sardines,” said another police officer, Jagat Ram Joshi. He said at least seven of the injured were in critical condition.
Earlier, rescue and retrieval work was hampered by inclement weather, said senior police official Sanjay Gunjiyal.
Police said the 28-seat bus was carrying about 60 people.