Dehradun, November 18: In a tragic incident, 12 people died, while others injured after a bus carrying more than 20 passengers fell in a gorge near Damta area in Uttarakhand on Sunday morning. The incident took place on Uttarkashi-Yamunotri Highway after the driver of the bus reportedly lost control of the bus and fell the deep gorge. Rescue operations are underway. Authorities are using a chopper to evacuate injured to a nearby hospital.  According to reports, casualties may increase.

Earlier, in July also, forty-seven people died after a bus fell down a gorge in Pauri Garhwal district of the state. The incident took place at Nainidanda area. The 28-seater bus was going to Ramnagar from Bhaun. The driver lost control near the Guen Bridge on Pipli-Bhaun motorway in NainiDanda block, and the bus fell into the gorge.

After the Pauri Garhwal mishap, The Uttarakhand High Court pulled senior transport officials for not complying with its earlier directions for improving traffic management and checking road accidents in the state. The court also sought an explanation from the officials and also asked the transport secretary and the commissioner to appear and submit their response personally. The court also pulled up the authorities for not being able to stop overloading of government and transport vehicles. Referring to the bus accident in Pauri, the court said that the loss of precious human lives could have been avoided.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 18, 2018 05:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).