LUCKNOW: At least 36 people were killed and six others injured after a bus fell into a ravine in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand on Monday, an official said. Reuters.
Devendra Bincha, a local police officer, said by phone that the bus was heading from Garhwal in the Himalayas and was heading to the town of Ramnagar, with at least 42 passengers on board.
Visuals from Years News Agency, where Reuters Owned by a minority stake, an overturned bus is shown lying beside a river at the base of a hill.
State Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on X that an investigation will be conducted into the cause of the accident.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, and announced compensation amounting to $2,378 for them, according to what the website reported. BBC.
Buses in India are a popular means of transportation, especially between cities and small areas.
They are also affordable for the country’s poor and operators often go beyond the safety of passengers and crowded buses beyond their capacity.
Moreover, 160,000 people are killed in road accidents in the country every year. This number is the highest in the world, and most accidents occur due to speed and reckless driving.
Additional inputs from Reuters.