23 die as bus falls into deep gorge in Uttarakhand's Almora district

Dehradun: A bus fell into a deep gorge in Uttarakhand's Almora district on Monday, killing 23 of the 40 people on board and injuring 15.

While 22 people died on the spot, one succumbed to injuries while being taken to a hospital in Ramnagar, Almora's District Disaster Management Officer Vineet Pal told PTI. The bus was going from Pauri to Ramnagar when the accident took place at Marchula in Almora, added District Magistrate Alok Kumar Pandey.

About 40 passengers were in the bus when it fell into the 200-metre deep gorge, Pandey said.

Police, SDRF and NDRF personnel immediately rushed to the spot to launch a search and rescue operation, he said.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed grief at the loss of lives in the accident.

"Received very sad news of casualties of passengers in the unfortunate bus accident that took place in Marchula of Almora district. The district administration has been instructed to conduct relief and rescue operations swiftly," he said on X.

जनपद अल्मोड़ा के मार्चुला में हुई दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण बस दुर्घटना में यात्रियों के हताहत होने का अत्यंत दुःखद समाचार प्राप्त हुआ। जिला प्रशासन को तेजी के साथ राहत एवं बचाव अभियान चलाने के निर्देश दिए हैं।

घटनास्थल पर स्थानीय प्रशासन एवं SDRF की टीमें घायलों को निकालकर उपचार के लिए…

— Pushkar Singh Dhami (@pushkardhami) November 4, 2024

"The local administration and SDRF teams are working swiftly to evacuate the injured and take them to the nearest health centre for treatment. Instructions have also been given to airlift the seriously injured passengers, if required," he said.