Seven killed, 12 injured as bus falls into Gorge in Uttarakhand’s Almora, PM condoles

Seven people were killed and around 12 others injured after a passenger bus fell into a deep gorge in Uttarakhand’s Almora district on Tuesday, police said.

The accident occurred in the Bhikiyasain area when the bus, en route to Ramnagar in Nainital district, lost control on the Bhikiyasain–Vinayak road and plunged into a ravine. Around 18–19 passengers were on board the vehicle at the time of the mishap, officials said.

According to the police, six passengers died on the spot, while one injured person succumbed to injuries on the way to the hospital. Several others sustained injuries of varying degrees.

Rescue teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), police and the district administration rushed to the spot and carried out relief operations in difficult terrain. The injured were pulled out of the gorge and admitted to the government hospital in Bhikiyasain for treatment. The condition of some of the injured is stated to be critical.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep grief over the loss of lives in the accident and extended condolences to the bereaved families. He also wished a speedy recovery for those injured.

The incident comes amid a continuing rise in road accidents in Uttarakhand. Official data shows that the state recorded about 1,484 road accidents up to October 2025, resulting in 988 fatalities and 1,728 injuries, marking an increase compared to the same period last year. Due to its hilly terrain, narrow roads and challenging weather conditions, Uttarakhand generally witnesses over 1,000 road accidents every year, officials said.

Road safety experts attribute the frequent accidents in the hill state to a combination of factors, including driver fatigue, speeding, poor vehicle maintenance, inadequate safety checks and the absence of protective barriers on several mountain roads.

Officials clarified that roads such as the Bhikiyasain–Vinayak stretch are typically constructed and maintained by the Uttarakhand Public Works Department (PWD), which is responsible for state and district roads. National highways are handled by agencies such as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and NHIDCL, while the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) maintains strategic and border-area roads.

Authorities said a detailed probe is underway to ascertain the exact cause of the accident and fix responsibility.