48 killed as bus falls into gorge in Uttarakhand

At least 48 people were today killed and 12 others injured when a bus fell into a deep gorge in Uttarakhand's Pauri district, police said.

The incident occurred near Gween village, close to Dhumakot in the district, when the private bus, carrying 58 passengers, on it way to Ramnagar, fell into a 200-metre deep gorge, Pauri Superintendent of Police Jagat Ram Joshi told PTI.

Two critically injured, out of the remaining 12, were referred to Ramnagar, whereas nine are still under treatment at the Dhumakot PHC, the SP said.


Though the exact cause of the accident is not known, but the bus was overloaded, he said.

Deepam Seth, IG law & order, was quoted by ANI saying that out of the 48 dead, 22 are men, 16 women&10 children. All bodies have been identified.

Rescue operations were carried out by police and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel, he said, adding that all the bodies have been recovered and the injured rescued from the mangled remains of the bus.

Governor K K Paul and Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat expressed grief over the loss of lives in the accident

The chief minister ordered a magisterial probe into the incident, besides announcing a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of those killed and Rs 50,000 for the injured, the CMO said.

Rawat may also visit the spot later in the day if the weather permits, it said.