TEMPO.CO, Jakarta –At least 25 people have died after a bus carrying wedding guests fell into a ravine in Uttarakhand, India on Tuesday, October 4, 2022.
The bus was traveling on a dangerous mountain highway in Pauri district, Uttarakhand state, on Tuesday night when it fell into a 500m deep gorge with around 45 people on board.
“According to the information received so far, 25 people died in this accident. 20 people were rescued and sent to hospital, some of them seriously injured,” Uttarakhand Police said in a tweet.
Uttarakhand Police Chief Ashok Kumar also confirmed the same to the news agency ANI. “25 people have been found dead in the Pauri Garwhal bus crash that happened last night in Birokhal area of Dhumakot.”
Four SDRF teams (State Disaster Response Force) was known to be at the crash site to coordinate rescue operations.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said “all possible help” would be provided to survivors. “At this tragic time, my thoughts are with the bereaved family,” he tweeted.
Traffic fatalities are common in Uttarakhand, which covers part of the Indian Himalayas and is home to many religious pilgrimage sites.
Nearly 24 people died in June when their bus fell into a canyon on its way to a shrine to the Hindu god Yamuna, north of the state capital, Dehradun.
More than 110,000 people die each year in traffic accidents worldwide India, according to the police. Accidents are caused by reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and aging vehicles.
Read also: Bus enters gorge in India, 26 pilgrims killed
HINDUSTANTTIMES | AL JAZEERA
