By RIA Novosti,
New Delhi : A bus carrying over 30 people plunged into a gorge in northern India’s state of Uttaranchal on Wednesday, killing 16 people, a district police chief said.
The driver is thought to have failed to negotiate a sharp curve, and the bus fell into the river below. Fifteen survivors have been rushed to hospital, 11 of them with serious injuries.
Such accidents are routine in the Himalayas due to poorly maintained vehicles and roads. Last year, a bus carrying pilgrims went off a mountain path, killing some 40 people.
On May 8, 15 people died when a bus veered off a mountain road and plummeted into the Chenab River in India’s northern state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Rescue efforts also continue in neighboring Nepal, where three buses have crashed in the past three days, killing 43 people. The most serious of the crashes occurred on Monday as a bus plunged off a mountain into the Rapti River, killing 36 people and injuring 34. It is still unknown exactly how many people were onboard, but some 10 passengers are listed as missing, presumed dead.