At least 23 people, some of them pilgrims, were killed and seven injured when a bus carrying 30 people fell into a gorge near Bhagirathi river in Uttarkashi district today.
The impact of the accident was so severe that the bus broke into pieces killing 22 people on the spot while one person succumbed in the hospital, SP Uttarkashi A R Chauhan said from Dharansu area of Uttarkashi.
The bus going to Gangotri shrine in Uttarkashi from Haridwar broke into pieces leaving very little scope for the passengers to survive, he said.
So far, only seven bodies have been identified and they belong to Uttarkashi district.
The 30 passengers included driver and conductor of the bus. The deceased included three women and two children.
Senior police and administrative officials rushed to the accident site and launched rescue and search operations.
The injured were taken to nearby hospitals where the condition of two of them was stated to be critical.
The exact cause of the accident was not immediately known but eyewitnesses said the bus skidded off the road and plunged into 200 meter deep khud near the Bhagirathi river.
{{/usCountry}}The exact cause of the accident was not immediately known but eyewitnesses said the bus skidded off the road and plunged into 200 meter deep khud near the Bhagirathi river.
{{/usCountry}}Chief Minister N D TiwariTiwari has expressed grief over the accident and ordered a magisterial inquiry into the mishap.