Uttarakhand: 23 killed as bus falls into ditch

Twenty-three people were killed and 29 others injured when their bus fell into a ditch in Chakrata area of Dehradun in Uttarakhand on Wednesday.

The accident occurred when the bus, carrying a total of 52 passengers, was coming to Vikasnagar from Hanol and it skidded off the road and fell into the ditch, officials of the Disaster Management and Mitigation centre said.

The injured have been admitted to various hospitals in the area where the condition of four is stated to be serious.

Most of the victims were locals.

Expressing grief over the accident, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident.

Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi has also expressed grief over the loss of lives in the accident.

Bahuguna has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh each to the next of kin of those killed and Rs 50,000 to those seriously injured. He has also directed the district administration to provide best medical care to those injured.