At least 16 people were killed and 23 others injured on Tuesday when a passenger bus plunged into a deep gorge in Indian-administered Kashmir, police said. The accident took place in the mountainous district of Ramban, about a four hour drive from the Indian Kashmir summer capital of Srinagar.
“We have 16 people confirmed dead and 23 others injured, five of them seriously,” police officer Ramesh Kumar told AFP. Police said the driver of the bus lost control while negotiating a sharp curve on the main highway connecting Srinagar with winter capital Jammu and other parts of India. It was the second accident of its kind in the scenic Himalayan region within a month.
On August 20, some 21 people were killed in a similar accident when a minibus plunged into a gorge in the southern Poonch district. Bus accidents are common in the region because of a combination of bad roads, overcrowding and poor vehicle maintenance.
