Uttarakhand: Child among 4 killed, 23 hurt as bus falls into deep gorge in Bhimtal

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Four people, including a woman and a child, died and 23 got injured after a roadways bus fell into a 1,500 ft deep gorge in Bhimtal's Saldi area on Wednesday.

The roadways bus with 27 people on board, including the driver and the conductor bus, was coming from Pithoragarh, Kumaon Commissioner Deepak Rawat told reporters.

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Four deaths have been confirmed. The injured have been brought in ambulances to Sushila Tiwari Hospital in Haldwani, he said.

Those killed have been identified as Khadak Singh (55), his wife Ganga Dhami (48), Surendra Singh Dharmasattu (58) and Daksh Pant (6), an official said.

They were from Dharchula, Pithoragarh and Berinag respectively. "The locals were the first to learn about the incident as is often the case. Even I came to know about it from locals," Rawat said.

Most of the injured are in the general ward but some of them are also likely to be shifted to the ICU, he said.

The vehicle plunged into a 1,500 ft deep gorge, Bhowali Circle Officer Sumit Pandey said.

The injured were first rushed to the Community Health Centre in Bhimtal from where they were referred to higher centres. Some of them are in critical condition.

Relief and rescue operations were launched with the help of locals, he said.

It was difficult for the fire department and SDRF teams to pull the bodies and the injured out of the gorge as the dept to which the bus had fallen was 1,500 feet, Pandey said.

They were pulled out of the ditch with the help of ropes, he said.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed grief over the accident and instructed the district administration to carry out the relief and rescue operations expeditiously.

He announced a financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased.

An assistance of Rs 3 lakh will be given to the seriously injured and Rs 15,000-25,000 to those who sustained minor injuries, he said.

Out of Rs 10 lakh to be paid to the families of those who died in the accident Rs 5 lakh will be given by Uttarakhand Transport Corporation, Rs 2 lakh from Road Safety Fund and Rs 3 lakh from Chief Minister's Discretionary Fund.

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