47 killed as bus falls into gorge in U'khand

At least 47 people were today killed and 11 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.

At least 45 people were killed on the spot and 13 others injured. Later, two more succumbed to their injuries at the PHC Dhumakot, where the injured were immediately rushed after rescue teams reached the spot, he said.

Two critically injured, out of the remaining 11, 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.

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