Eight women and two children were killed and 40 other people injured Monday evening when their bus skidded off the road and rolled 150 feet into a deep gorge in Himachal Pradesh, police said.
The Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus was on its way from Theog to Neri when it rolled down into the gorge at Balghar curve near Theog town, some 60 km from state capital Shimla, Superintendent of Police Abhishek Dullar told IANS.
He said most of the injured were taken to the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital in Shimla.
The cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained, he added.
Governor Urmila Singh and Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh expressed grief over the accident.
Transport Minister G.S. Bali said Rs.2.5 lakh would be given to the next of kin of each of the deceased, and ordered a magisterial inquiry into the accident.
