NEW DELHI, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from Monday's road accident in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand has increased to 36, officials said.
Twenty-four people injured in the accident are undergoing treatment in different hospitals and four of them were airlifted to AIIMS in Rishikesh owing to their critical condition.
The accident took place after a bus skidded off the mountainous road and plunged into a 200-metre-deep gorge near a rivulet in the Marchula area of Almora district, about 259 km east of Dehradun, the capital city of Uttarakhand.
"This is a very unfortunate accident. The search and rescue operation is underway on the spot. So far we have confirmation of 36 deaths in the accident," a senior local government official told the media.
According to district authorities, the passenger bus was carrying around 60 people while traveling from Pauri in Garhwal to Ramnagar in Kumaon.
Immediately after the accident, police and the Uttarakhand State Disaster Response Force launched a rescue operation at the accident site.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said a magisterial probe has been ordered into the accident and directions have been issued to suspend the officials responsible for the accident.
Dhami has also announced a monetary relief of about 4,755 U.S. dollars each to the families of those killed in the accident, and assistance of around 1,188 dollars to each injured.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed grief over the deaths in the accident and wished speedy recovery to all the injured.
Modi too announced a monetary relief from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund of about 2,377 dollars for the next of kin of each deceased and around 594 dollars for each injured.
Deadly road accidents are common in India, which are often caused due to overloading, bad condition of roads and reckless driving.
Around 150,000 people are killed every year in about half a million road accidents across India, officials said. ■