Bus falls into Uttarakhand gorge, 4 dead, 23 hurt

Four people, including a woman and a child, died and 23 got injured after a roadways bus fell into a 1,500-ft-deep gorge in Bhimtal’s Saldi area on Wednesday.

The roadways bus with 27 people on board, including the driver and the conductor, was coming from Pithoragarh, Kumaon Commissioner Deepak Rawat told reporters.

Four deaths have been confirmed. The injured have been brought in ambulances to Sushila Tiwari Hospital in Haldwani, he said.

Those killed have been identified as Khadak Singh (55), his wife Ganga Dhami (48), Surendra Singh Dharmasattu (58) and Daksh Pant (6), an official said. They were from Dharchula, Pithoragarh and Berinag respectively.

“The locals were the first to learn about the incident as is often the case. Even I came to know about it from locals,” Rawat said.