Six passengers died and 22 others were injured when a private bus skidded off the road in Ladakh's Leh district. The bus was travelling from Leh to Eastern Ladakh when it fell into a into a 200-feet-deep gorge in the Durbak area of the district.
Deputy Commissioner Leh, Santosh Sukhadeve said that the injured are being shifted to District Hospital SNM Leh. Two of them are said to be in a critical state. Further details about the accident are awaited.
DC Santosh Sukhadeve said that the bus was taking staff members of a school to a weddubg function in Eastern Ladakh. He also said that helicopters are being used to move the injured to the SNM hospital and Army hospital in Leh, news agency PTI reported.
"Today at around 1105 hour, a bus carrying 27 passengers lost control and fell in a gorge approximately 5 km near Durbuk, Ladakh. The accident was noticed by troops deployed in the area who immediately rushed to the accident site and evacuated the victims," Indian Army officials told news agency ANI.
The army said that all the passengers, including the six deceased, were initially evacuated to a Military Hospital and Primary Health Centre located nearby at Tangste.
From there, they were subsequently transferred to the Military Hospital at Leh by air via 14 sorties conducted by the military and Cheetal Helicopters.
After the initial examination, 20 cases were referred to SNM Hospital in Leh. A passenger with spine injury was retained for further treatment and MRI, ANI reported.