48 dead as crowded bus plunges into Pauri gorge

At least 48 people were killed and a dozen were injured when the bus they were travelling on fell into a 200-metre  deep gorge in Uttarakhand’s Pauri district on Sunday morning, said officials.

It is understood that 60 people were travelling in the overloaded private bus with capacity for less than 30 passengers. Though the exact cause of the accident is yet not known, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident which occurred near Gween village, close to Dhumakot in the district.

According to police, a Garhwal Motor Owners’ Union Limited (GMOU) bus UK 12 CA 0159 was being driven from Bamnisain under Dhumakot police station area in Pauri district to Ramnagar when at about 8:15 am the driver lost control near Gween village, causing the bus to fell into the gorge.

Of the 60 passengers reportedly travelling in the bus, 45 were killed on the spot while 15 injured were sent to the nearest hospital in Ramnagar, three died during treatment.

Forty eight people reported dead in the accident included 10 children while 16 were women and 22 were men.

While the locals immediately rushed to the rescue, police, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) district administration and other departmental personnel concerned also reached the accident site to rescue the injured and extract those killed.

Later in the day, CM Rawat left Dehradun by helicopter for the accident site. He announced Rs 2,00,000 compensation to family of each of those killed and Rs 50,000 each as financial assistance to the injured.