36 KILLED AS BUS PLUNGES INTO GORGE IN U'KHAND

A packed beyond capacity bus carrying passengers returning to work after Diwali fell into a deep gorge in Uttarakhand's Almora district on Monday, killing at least 36 of the over 60 people on board.

- 

Twenty-seven people were injured, four of them critically, when the 43-seater bus, operated by the private Garhwal Motor Owners Union, was on its way from Pauri in Garhwal region to Ramnagar in Kumaon about 250 km away.

The accident took place around 8 am, almost the fag end of the overnight journey, said District Magistrate Alok Kumar Pandey.

The bus plunged into a 200-metre gorge in Almora's Marchula area 35 km before its destination Ramnagar, he said.

Visuals from the area pointed to the magnitude of the accident, the vehicle reduced to a mangled mess as it rolled down the forested, rocky slope and stopped just short of a stream. Rescuers could be seen working to pull out the passengers.

The rescue operation lasted around five hours.