At least ten dead as packed bus plunges off motorway bridge into Himalayan gorge as it took pilgrims to Hindu shrine
AT least people have been killed after a bus carrying pilgrims to a shrine skidded off a bridge.
Cops say 55 people were also injured in the crash in Kashmir, India.
The bus – packed with Hindu pilgrims – was making its way to Katra town when it toppled into a Himalayan gorge near Jammu city on Tuesday.
Local police officer Chandan Kohli said the bus was overloaded.
Emergency service rushed to the scene and launched a rescue operation.
Ten people from India’s eastern Bihar state died, while 55 passengers were taken to hospital.
The shrine of Vaishno Devi in Katra is highly revered by Hindus and hundreds of thousands visit it every year.
India has some of the highest road death rates in the world, with hundreds of thousands of people killed and injured annually.
Most crashes are blamed on reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and aging vehicles.