AT least five people were killed after a bus packed with tourists plunged about 230 feet into a gorge in northern India.
The horror crash took place at Uttarakhand’s Tehri district on Monday, sparking a frantic rescue operation.
Officials said the bus, carrying around 28 passengers, veered off the road and plunged into the gorge near the Kunjapuri–Hindolakhal route in the Narendranagar area, a popular stretch in northern India.
According to the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the district control room alerted its Corps Control Room on Monday afternoon.
It warned that a passenger bus had gone off the hillside within the Narendranagar police station limits.
SDRF teams moved quickly.
Five units from Post Dhalwala, Post Koti Colony and the Corps Headquarters were rushed to the spot as rescuers scrambled down the slope.
Officials confirmed five deaths at the scene.
Survivors were hauled out of the ravine and taken to nearby hospitals as teams worked against time.
Authorities said many of those on board were believed to be from outside Uttarakhand, and efforts were underway to identify the victims and notify families.
Last month, at least 25 people were killed when a bus erupted in flames after a devastating collision with a motorbike.
Passengers were heard screaming for help as fire swept through the vehicle within minutes on a highway in India.
Many on board were asleep and became trapped when the speeding bus crashed on a highway near Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh, senior police officer Vikrant Patil said.
According to Patil, the motorbike slammed into the rear of the private bus around 3:30am on October 24, and became lodged underneath.
The bus dragged the motorcycle for some distance, creating sparks that then triggered an explosion in the bus’s fuel tank.
Smoke began filling the vehicle as the driver pulled over and attempted to douse the blaze with an extinguisher, but the fire spread too quickly.
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