14 killed, 17 injured as bus falls into gorge

New Tehri (UKD): Fourteen people were killed and 17 injured when the state-run bus they were travelling in fell into a deep gorge around 15 km from Chamba town in Tehri district this morning, a senior official said.

The accident occurred near Kirgani on Rishikesh-Chamba-Gangotri highway around 8 am when the Uttarakhand Roadways bus plunged into a 250-metre deep gorge, Tehri District Magistrate Sonika said. Fourteen people were killed and 17 injured, she said.

Six of the injured were flown in a chopper for treatment at AIIMS, Rishikesh, while the rest were being treated at Tehri district hospital and Masiha hospital in Chamba, she said.

Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat expressed grief at the loss of lives in the accident and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the family of those killed and Rs 50,000 for those injured.

Police and SDRF teams were conducting rescue operations, the district magistrate said.