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Dozens killed as bus loses control, skids off Himalayan road in India and plunges into deep gorge
New Delhi — At least 36 people were killed and six others injured Monday when a bus lost control on a hilly road in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand and plunged into a gorge. The bus was built to carry 42 passengers but senior state official Deepak Rawat told The Associated Press it was packed with about 60 people at the time of the crash.
The bus was traveling from Garhwal to the tourist town of Ramnagar when it veered off the road, officials said.
Almora district officials launched a rescue operation and the casualties were transferred to regional hospitals.
The Uttarakhand Police shared a video clip of rescuers working around the overturned bus, which was left lying beside a river at the base of a steep hill, almost 200 feet below the road.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said in a social media post that an investigation would be launched into the cause of the incident. Vineet Pal, another state official, said preliminary information suggested the bus was poorly maintained and that it skidded before tumbling into the gorge.
The AP quoted Pal as saying two transport officials had been suspended for certifying the bus despite its poor condition.
Dhami also announced state government compensation of 400,000 Indian rupees ($4,750) for the families of those killed in the crash, and 100,000 rupees ($1,190) for those injured.
Dhami said emergency crews were “working swiftly to evacuate the injured and take them to the nearest health center for treatment. Instructions have also been given to airlift the seriously injured passengers if required.”
Uttarakhand Police
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences for the families of the victims. He announced separate compensation of 200,000 rupees ($2,378) for the families of those killed and 50,000 rupees ($594) for those injured.
Road accidents are common in India’s hilly Himalayan districts, where buses are the primary mode of public transport. About 160,000 people are killed in road accidents in India every year — the highest toll in the world — mainly due to reckless driving and poorly maintained roads and vehicles.
At least 18 people were killed in July when a double-decker passenger bus collided with a milk truck in Uttar Pradesh state, and before that, a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims skidded and rolled into a deep gorge on a mountain highway in Indian-controlled Kashmir in May, killing at least 21 people.
Boeing’s 33,000 unionized machinists on Wednesday voted to approve the plane manufacturer’s latest contract offer, ending a seven-week strike that had halted production of most of the company’s passenger planes.
The union said 59% voted to accept the contract. Members have the option of returning to work as soon as Wednesday, but must be back at work by Tuesday, November 12, the union said in a statement.
Union leaders had strongly urged members to ratify the latest proposal, which would boost wages by 38% over the four-year life of the contract, up from a proposed increase of 35% that members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) had rejected last month.
The revised deal also provides a $12,000 cash bonus to hourly workers and increased contributions to retirement savings plans. The enhanced offer doesn’t address a key sticking point in the contentious talks — restoration of pensions — but Boeing would raise its contributions to employee 401K plans.
Average annual pay for machinists, now $75,608, would climb to $119,309 in four years under the current offer, Boeing said.
The vote came after IAM members in September and October rejected lesser offers by the Seattle-based aerospace giant.
“In every negotiation and strike, there is a point where we have extracted everything we can in bargaining and by withholding our labor,” the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers stated last week in backing Boeing’s revised offer. “We are at that point now and risk a regressive or lesser offer in the future.”
Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su has played an active role in the negotiations, after recently helping to end a days-long walkout that briefly closed East and Gulf Coast ports.
The Boeing strike that began on Sept. 13 marked the latest setback for the manufacturing giant, which has been the focus of multiple federal probes after a door plug blew off a 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. The incident revived concerns about the safety of the aircraft after two crashed within five months in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people.
Boeing in July agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud for deceiving regulators who approved the 737 Max.
During the strike, Boeing was unable to produce any new 737 aircraft, which are made at the company’s assembly plants in the Seattle area. One major Boeing jet, the 787 Dreamliner, is manufactured at a nonunion factory in South Carolina.
The company last month reported a third-quarter loss of $6.1 billion.
contributed to this report.
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