About 30 people were killed when a bus carrying a wedding party fell in a 200-feet deep gorge in Uttarakhand's Pauri District, said local media reports. The accident took place on Friday night (October 4) around 8 pm. It is being reported that 50 to 55 people were travelling when the accident occurred. The driver of the bus lost control of the vehicle and it went off the road killing majority of the people on board. The rest are severely injured and receiving medical treatment in hospitals nearby.
The site of accident is just couple kilometres away from the home of the bride. At the time of the accident, the bus was travelling from Laldhang in Haridwar district to Bironkhal in Paudi.
SDRF Deployed
Following the accident, local police as well as State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel were rushed to the site to rescue people and take them to hospital. Local MLA Ritu Khanduri reached the spot as well. She later visited those injured in the hospital.
There was no immediate confirmation on the exact number of the dead.
Locals in the area were angry at the authorities and held demonstrations following the accident.
Uttarakhand, a Himalayan state, witnesses many road accidents involving vehicles plunging in deep gorges and valleys. People in the hilly north Indian state do not have any other option to use roads in ghats and a single lapse in concentration may mean a vertical plunge into the valley.
In June this year, a bus fell in a gorge while on Gangotri National Highway in the state. The accident, which occurred after the bus-driver lost control of the vehicle, killed three people and injured 24. The bus was going to Uttarkashi from Gangotri and travellers were pilgrims.
