SEVEN have been killed and 15 injured when a luxury bus plunged into a 200ft gorge after slamming through a barrier.
At approximately 4:15 am on an early Sunday morning, the driver lost control of the vehicle. The car was carrying 48 pilgrims when it crashed through a barrier and plummeted about 35 feet from the road.
Cops in Gujrat, India, said five people died instantly and 17 were taken to hospital with two later dying of their injuries.
The driver is one of the dead – which includes three men and two women.
The bus lost control on the Nashik-Gujarat highway just after he had taken a tea break at Saputara hill station.
Local official Mahesh Patel said the crash happened due to break failure.
According to reports, the passengers had stopped at Saputara for tea and breakfast before continuing their journey. It is suspected that the driver’s inability to control the vehicle was due to brake failure.
“Medical staff are working diligently to treat the injured persons.”
Photos showed the smashed-up blue double-decker bus at the bottom of the gorge with the roof entirely collapsed.
The pilgrims were from Madhya Pradesh, a large state in central India, and were on their way to Dwarka in Gujarat.
The tragedy comes after 30 people were killed in a crowd stampede at the mega religious festival Kumbh Mela.
Hundreds of millions are expected to gather across the festival to take a holy dip during the six-week Hindu festival.
For devout Hindus, the act of bathing at the meeting point of three revered rivers – the Ganga, the Yamuna, and the symbolic Saraswati – is believed to cleanse individuals of their sins.
