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

Dehradun: A privately operated bus fell into a deep gorge in Almora district on Monday, killing at least 23 of the about 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, operated by the Garhwal Motor Owner Association, was on its way from Pauri in Garhwal region to Ramnagar in Kumaon about 250 km away when the accident took place around 8 am. It's an overnight journey.

The 43-seater bus plunged into a 200-metre gorge in Almora’s Marchula area just 35 km before its destination Ramnagar.

Visuals from the area pointed to the magnitude of the accident, the vehicle reduced to a mangled mess as it rolled down the forested, rocky slope and stopped just short of a stream. Rescuers could be seen working to pull out the passengers.

The injured were taken to the nearest hospital in Ramnagar. Police and personnel of the National and State Disaster Response Forces rushed to the spot to launch a search and rescue operation, said District Magistrate Alok Kumar Pandey.

About 40 passengers were in the bus when it fell into the gorge, he added.

Details of those killed and injured were not immediately known.

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.