Death toll rises to 26 after Indian bus falls into gorge

By Reuters June 5, 2022 | 11:44 pm PT

Local residents help accident survivors cross a river after a bus carrying some 50 passengers fell into a 150-meter gorge near Banjar in the mountainous Kullu district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh on June 20, 2019. Photo by AFP

The death toll has risen to 26 after a bus fell into a gorge in India's northern state of Uttarakhand with 30 people on board, with four of those rescued in critical condition, a police official said on Monday.

The updated toll in Sunday's bus crash was provided to Reuters by Arpan Yaduvanshi, a police superintendent in the state's district of Uttarkashi, where the accident took place.

"The bus was en route to Yamunotri with 29 passengers," another police official at the state headquarters had told Reuters by telephone, referring to the source of the river Yamuna that is a pilgrimage site.

The bus was travelling from the district of Panna in the central state of Madhya Pradesh at the time, the official added.

Rescue operations had been launched, with the injured being taken to hospital, Home Minister Amit Shah said, adding on Twitter that the national disaster response force had been dispatched.