UPDATE - India: 44 dead as bus plunges into gorge

UPDATES WITH DEATH TOLL

By Ahmad Adil

CHANDIGARH, India (AA) - At least 44 people were killed and several others injured after a bus plunged into a deep gorge in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand on Sunday morning, a local official said.

Deepesh Chander Kala -- a disaster management officer from Pauri Garhwal district, where the accident happened -- told Anadolu Agency the bus was carrying 60 passengers.

Earlier, Sushil Kumar, a senior official in the district administration, told Anadolu Agency over the phone that 35 people had been killed. He said that efforts were underway to airlift some of the critically injured people.

The cause of the incident has yet to be ascertained, Kumar said. “The incident will be investigated. Our priority at present is to provide medical assistance to the injured ones,” he added.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended condolences over the accident.

“My deepest condolences to the bereaved families. I pray that those injured recover at the earliest. Rescue operations are underway and authorities are providing all possible assistance at the accident site,” Modi wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Trivendra Singh Rawat has ordered an inquiry into the accident.

Uttarakhand, which is the Himalayan state of India, recorded 1591 road accidents in 2016, according to Indian Ministry of Road Transport and Highways report released in 2017.