A major road accident rocked Uttarakhand's Almora, claiming 36 lives on Monday morning. The ill-fated bus with 55 passengers on board fell into a gorge near Marchula around 8:30 AM, local media reports said. Air ambulances have also been sent to the accident site.
The bus involved in the tragedy was reportedly owned by Garhwal Motor Owners Union Ltd (GMOU). Authorities are worried that the death toll may go up as several passengers were rushed to hospitals with serious injuries.
The bus was going from Kinath of Pauri Garhwal district's Nainidanda to Ramnagar in Nainital, Amar Ujala said in a report. When the bus was near Marchula's Sarad Bend, it fell into a ditch and crashed into the Ramganga River, the report added. Many passengers were thrown out of the bus in the impact of the fall. As many as 22 victims died on the spot while the rest succumbed later, a news report said. It was with great difficulty that the bodies of those trapped inside the bus were brought out.
The 42-seater bus was packed with 55 passengers during the time of the accident, Amar Ujala said. Local residents had started rescue operations by the time police and other officials arrived at the scene. The bus had fallen into a 200-meter-deep ditch, so the rescue team had to face a lot of difficulty in bringing the injured to the main road. The police are aided by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams in the relief and rescue operation. Later, they were joined by a team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
No official statement was available on the cause of the accident during the time of compiling this report.