On Wednesday, a bus fell off a roadway and into a canyon in northern India, killing at least 37 passengers and injuring 18.
According to accounts, the bus traveled in the rugged Dodo region of Jammu division when it went off the road and plunged at least 300 feet into the gorge.
A video from the incident shows the wrecked bus lying on its side near a hill, with dozens of people attempting to assist survivors. Many more people were visible, peering down from the road.
Federal Minister Jitendra Singh stated that several of the 18 injured were in severe condition.
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According to Singh, the injured have been transferred to medical institutions in Jammu and Dodo. Rescue services were also provided by helicopters.
The exact cause of the crash was not immediately revealed, although police officer Sunil Gupta stated that the vehicle was overloaded and fast. According to reports, the bus was transporting 55 people and had 42 seats.
He stated that an official investigation has been launched. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to X to express his condolences and to provide financial compensation for the families of the victims.
“The bus accident in Doda, Jammu and Kashmir, is distressing,” Modi said in a tweet.
“My heartfelt condolences to the families who have lost loved ones.” I hope the injured recover as soon as possible.”
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According to the BBC, road safety in India is infamously poor, with more than 100,000 people dying in crashes each year. Buses are a popular means of transportation, but operators frequently disregard safety regulations and overcrowd them.
The majority of accidents are the result of careless driving, deteriorating roads, and older automobiles.
In the state of Gujarat in western India, a century-old bridge collapsed into a river last year, sending hundreds of people into the water and killing at least 132 in one of the worst incidents to occur in the nation in the previous ten years.
A bus carrying a wedding procession veered off the road. It fell into a gorge in another event that happened in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand last year, according to the BBC, killing twenty-five people.
At least forty people were killed in 2021 when an overcrowded bus in central India crashed off a bridge and into a canal.
