48 dead as the overloaded bus falls in the gorge at Uttarakhand | News from India

DEHRADUN: In one of the worst road accidents in Uttarakhand in the past, 48 people were killed and 12 injured on Sunday after an overloaded bus in which they were traveling either fell in a gorge of 100 meters in the district of Pauri. makes a gap to avoid a pothole. Three of the wounded are critical and were flown to AIIMS Rishikesh.

The 28-seat bus carried 60 people, all residents of Pauri and Nainital, from Bamisain (Pauri) to Ramnagar (Nainital) when it plunged into the gorge at 8:15. The dead include 16 women and 10 children. An ex-member of the Army who owned the bus and was driving him also died.

Deepam Seth, IG (Law and Order), said: "The accident occurred near the village of Gween, 10 km from the town of Dhumakot, on the way to Ramnagar. We recovered 45 bodies while 12 people were injured. Police teams and the National Disaster Response Force conduct relief and rescue operations. "

The officer told TOI that 45 pbadengers died on the field while three others died of injuries during their treatment at the Dhumakot Primary Health Center. The wounded were admitted to the Susheela Tiwari Hospital in Haldwani, while three wounded were flown from Ramnagar to AIIMS Rishikesh.

IG Sanjay Gunjyal said that bad weather has hindered rescue operations. The teams had trouble transporting the wounded because the rescue helicopter could not land at Dhumakot because of inclement weather and landed in Ramnagar.

According to the wounded, the driver was trying to avoid a pothole on the road when he lost control of the vehicle, said ADG (Public Order) Ashok Kumar. "The pothole, which covered half of the road, is the main cause of the accident.In addition, the driver could not control the vehicle because it was overloaded," Kumar said.

The bus was part of the Garhwal Automobile Union (GMOU), which runs buses in remote areas in the hills where the public transport network is poor.

Meanwhile, CM Trivendra Singh Rawat announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the parents of those who died in the accident and Rs 50,000 each for the wounded.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also offered his condolences. "Extremely saddened by the bus crash at Pauri Garhwal in Uttarakhand, My deepest sympathy to the bereaved families, I pray that the wounded will recover as soon as possible," the Prime Minister tweeted.