30 Dead As Bus Falls Into Ravine In India

A bus skidded off a hill road into a ravine in north-eastern India killing 30 passengers, police said Wednesday.

The accident happened Tuesday night near Sonapur in the East Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya state.

“Thirty passengers died on the spot. We have rescued five people. They are in critical condition,” said senior district police official Lethindra Sangma.

The ravine was over 150 metres deep, Sangma said and rescue operations were difficult.

“The impact of the fall was such that passengers were thrown out of the bus around the accident spot.

“We don’t know why the bus skidded off, but it had been raining and it was dark,” Sangma said.

The bus was travelling from Silchar to Guwahati – both in Assam state, through Meghalaya.

According to Indian government data ,146,000 people died in road accidents in 2015 which works out at 400 deaths a day.

India’s high rate of fatal traffic accidents, an average of 135,000 people annually for the past five years, is mostly blamed on poorly maintained roads and vehicles or negligent driving.