48 die as overcrowded bus plunges into ravine

Forty eight people were killed and 11 injured when an overcrowded bus spun off a slippery road and fell into a deep ravine in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand yesterday.

“It was a 28-seater bus but was carrying 59 passengers,” said a police official who declined to be identified, in the town of Pauri, near to where the accident took place.

“It looks like due to overcapacity and bad road conditions, the bus toppled off,” the official added.

Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, wrote on Twitter that he was “extremely saddened by the bus accident in Pauri Garhwal” while Trivendra Singh Rawat, the state’s chief minister, ordered an inquiry.