At least 20 dead as bus falls into deep gorge in Uttarakhand's Almora

Dehradun: At least twenty people were killed and many injured on Monday when a bus fell into a deep gorge in Uttarakhand's Almora district, a senior official said.

The bus was going from Garhwal to Kumaon when the accident took place at Marchula in Almora, District Magistrate Alok Kumar Pandey said.

So far twenty deaths have been reported, he said.

The casualties may go up as there were around 40 passengers in the bus when it fell into a 200-metre deep gorge, Pandey said. Police and SDRF personnel have reached 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.