At least 52 people including two children have died after an overcrowded bus plunged 300ft into a gorge in northern India.
The
driver lost control when a tyre burst at a sharp bend on a mountain
road in the state of Himachal Pradesh, 335 miles north of New Delhi.
Many passengers riding on the roof of the 42-seat bus were killed in the carnage. Among the victims were 18 women.
Rescue workers and security
personnel stand next to the debris in the gorge of the northern Indian
state of Himachal Pradesh
Workers sift through the twisted metal of the bus which plunged 300ft into a gorge
As many as 39 people, including the driver, died at the scene, while 13 succumbed to their injuries in the hospital.
Tragedy struck at 9am local time as the privately-owned bus travelled
from Chamba - a remote mountainous district where there are many road
accidents - to Dulera.
Bodies covered in white blankets lie
on the ground as onlookers and rescue workers gather at the crash scene
in a 300ft-deep gorge
Rescue workers at the scene where an
overcrowded bus with passengers lying the roof plunged 300ft into a
gorge in northern India
Although
an investigation into the cause of the crash has been started,
Chaudhury confirmed the bus appeared to have been overloaded.
India has the world's highest road-death toll, with
more than 110,000 people dying each year in accidents commonly caused by
overcrowding, speeding and poor vehicle and road maintenance.
All that's left of the privately-owned bus is scattered around the gorge after the tragedy
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