At least 36 people have died after a passenger bus veered off-road and plunged into a deep gorge in India today.
The bus had been carrying 60 people when it crashed in the Almora district of northern India, authorities say that more than 20 suffered injuries.
A preliminary investigation into the incident suggested that the bus, which was reportedly in a dilapidated condition, skidded along the road before tumbling down a 60-metre-deep gorge.
Some passengers managed to escape the crashed vehicle and alerted authorities of the accident.
Emergency services scrambled to the scene where the bus had rolled into a ditch (Picture: AP)
Members of the SDRF helped the families of those who were killed in the crash (Picture: EPA)Teams of rescue and relief workers have been sent to the site, with authorities warning that the death toll could rise.
Uttarakhand’s chief minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, said that teams are working to quickly evacuate the injured passengers to the nearest health centre.
Emergency services have been instructed to airlift any rescued passengers with life-threatening injuries.
Todays major crash is one of multiple to have occurred in India this year. Just last week, a bus veered out of control in the Sikar district, killing 12 passengers.
At least 18 people died in July too, after a double-decker passenger bus collided with a milk truck in the Uttar Pradesh state.
In May, 21 people were killed when a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims veered off-road and fell into a deep gorge in Kashmir.
India has some of the highest road death rates in the world.
A large majority of crashes in the Asian country are blamed on reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and ageing vehicles.
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