52 killed in Indian bus crash

PA

At least 52 people have died and a further 46 have been injured after a crowded bus plunged into a 300ft gorge in the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India.

The Daily Mail reports that the accident happened at 9am on Saturday, when the privately-owned bus was travelling from Chamba, a remote mountainous district, to Dulera.

The driver lost control when a tyre burst on a sharp bend on a mountain road. Many passengers riding on the roof of the 42-seat bus were killed, including 18 women and two children.

At least 39 people, including the driver, died at the scene, with a further 13 dying later in hospital.

Sunil Chaudhury, administrator of Himachal Pradesh's Chambra district, said that all the victims' bodies had been recovered but the rescue operation was ongoing. Four teams of doctors were working at the crash site, and postmortems were being conducted at the scene.

Although an investigation has been started, Chaudhury confirmed that the bus seemed to have been overloaded.

India has the world's highest road-death toll, with more than 110,000 people dying each year in accidents which are often caused by overcrowding, speeding and poor vehicle or road maintenance.

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