Dehradun, 30 Dec

Seven people were killed and about 12 injured after a bus fell into a gorge in Uttarakhand’s Almora district, police said on Tuesday.

The accident occurred in the Bhikiyasain area when the bus was en route to Ramnagar in Nainital from Dwarahat in Almora, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Devendra Pincha said.

According to the SSP, 18 to 19 passengers were on board when the driver lost control of the vehicle, and it fell into a gorge, six kilometres ahead of Bhikiyasain.

Upon receiving information about the accident, the police, along with State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams, reached the spot and launched rescue and relief operations, he said.

Six people died on the spot in the accident, while another succumbed to injuries on the way to hospital, the officer added.

SSP Pincha said 12 people, including the driver, were injured in the accident and rescued from the gorge. The injured were admitted to the hospital.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed grief over the loss of lives in the accident.

In a Facebook post in Hindi, Dhami said, “I pray to God for the speedy recovery of all the injured. The entire incident is being continuously monitored, and I am in constant contact with the local administrative officials.”

“I pray to God for the peace of the departed souls and strength to their grieving families to bear this immense loss,” he added.

The CM in his post also said that the injured passengers have been admitted to nearby hospitals by the district administration, and those seriously injured have been referred to higher medical centres for better treatment.