23 children die

A school bus plunged off a mountain road into a deep gorge in the Himalayan foothills in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, killing 23 children, some as young as 4, officials said. Four adults also died, said Sandeep Kumar, a local official. Ten children were hospitalised. Initial reports indicated the bus driver was speeding as he took the children home and lost control at the edge of the gorge. The crash occurred in the Kangra Valley, about 500km north of New Delhi.