A bus brimming with passengers swerved off a highway bridge and descended into a deep gorge.
The bus was filled with 75 Hindu devotees traveling to a sacred shrine in Indian-administered Kashmir.
The incident took place as the bus was traveling from Amritsar in Punjab toward the town of Katra. The bus plunged off a highway bridge, descending into a chasm in the Himalayan terrain. The Indian officials reported a loss of 10 lives, with an additional 57 people suffering injuries.
Police suggest that the bus, overcrowded, may have lost control near the city of Jammu. The casualties were predominantly from the eastern Indian state of Bihar, with some victims being members of the same family. This particular bus had been hired by several families to take them for a tonsuring ceremony at the shrine for two of their children. Upon hearing about the accident, local civilians and officials embarked on a rescue mission, and the injured were dispatched to nearby hospitals.
The Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra is a significant religious site for Hindus and witnesses a massive influx of pilgrims annually. This particular bus had been hired by several families to take them for a tonsuring ceremony at the shrine for two children. This tragedy has shaken the pilgrimage community and underscored the pressing issue of road safety in India.
Despite numerous initiatives, India maintains one of the highest road fatality rates globally, resulting in a staggering number of deaths and injuries each year. Factors such as careless driving, inadequate road maintenance, and the presence of outdated vehicles often contribute to these alarming figures.
