Srinagar
\nAt least 30 people were killed in Indian-occupied Kashmir on Wednesday when a passenger bus skidded off a mountainous road and plunged into a deep gorge, police said.
\nThe accident took place on a remote road in the Doda area, about 200 kilometres (124 miles) southeast of the region\u2019s capital Srinagar.
\n\u201cThirty passengers have died in the accident, caused by the driver\u2019s negligence by hitting the crash bar of the road,\u201d senior police officer Sunil Gupta told AFP.
\n\u201cThe bus tumbled down the mountain some 250 metres (800 feet),\u201d he said, adding that more than 25 people were also injured in the crash.
\nA video clip from the site showed a grisly scene of several dead bodies, as rescuers tried to help the injured.
\nPolice said they feared the death toll could rise, with many badly hurt.
\nPrime Minister Narendra Modi said the accident was \u201cdistressing\u201d and offered his \u201ccondolences to the families who have lost their near and dear ones\u201d.
\n\u201cI pray that the injured recover at the earliest,\u201d he said on social media, adding that government compensation of more than $2,400 would be offered to the next of kin of those killed, and $600 to those injured.
\n\u2018Anguished\u2019
\nHome Minister Amit Shah said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that he was \u201cdeeply anguished to learn about the loss of precious lives\u201d.
\n\u201cThe local administration is conducting the rescue operation in the gorge where the bus had the accident,\u201d Shah added.
\nAccidents are common on India\u2019s vast network of roads, which are often poorly maintained.
\nThe country accounts for 11 per cent of the global road death toll, despite having just one percent of the world\u2019s vehicles, according to a World Bank report released in 2021.
\nThe same report estimated 150,000 car crash fatalities in India annually \u2014 or one every four minutes \u2014 causing road crashes that cost the Indian economy around $75 billion each year, the report added.
\nMedical expenses and loss of income push many accident survivors into poverty.
\nIn May, at least 21 people died when a bus veered off a bridge in India, reportedly after the driver fell asleep at the wheel.
\nIn July, 25 people were killed and eight others injured in western India when a bus crashed and caught fire on an expressway.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Srinagar At least 30 people were killed in Indian-occupied Kashmir on Wednesday when a passenger bus skidded off a mountainous road and plunged into a deep gorge, police said. The accident took place on a remote road in the Doda area, about 200 kilometres (124 miles) southeast of the region\u2019s capital Srinagar. \u201cThirty passengers have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":368246,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-368228","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n