At least 36 people have been confirmed dead after a bus carrying 45 passengers fell into a 200-metre-deep gorge in the Almora district of Uttarakhand on Monday, officials said. The bus was going from Pauri to Ramnagar when the accident took place at Marchula, District Magistrate Alok Kumar Pandey said. Police, SDRF and NDRF personnel immediately rushed to the spot to launch a search and rescue operation.
PM Narendra Modi has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund for the next of kin of each deceased in the accident. The injured would be given Rs 50,000. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed grief at the loss of lives and said instructions have also been given to airlift seriously injured passengers if required.
"Very sad news has been received about the casualties of passengers in the unfortunate bus accident that took place in Marchula of Almora district. The district administration has been instructed to carry out relief and rescue operations swiftly. The local administration and SDRF teams at the accident site are working rapidly to evacuate the injured and take them to the nearest health center for treatment," CM Dhami said in a post on X.
The chief minister has announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each for the families of those killed in the accident and an aid of ₹ 1 lakh for those injured.