Four people, including an 8-year-old boy, were killed and 24 injured after a roadways bus plunged into a 500-foot gorge in Uttarakhand’s Nainital district while trying to avoid a collision with a car.

The bus, which had 28 people on board, was travelling from Pithoragarh to Haldwani on Wednesday when it veered off the road near Aamdali in Bhimtal. The driver told the police that he had taken evasive action to avoid an accident with a car that had come from the wrong side. A passenger also confirmed the driver’s version.

Three people, including two men and a woman, died on the spot, while the 8-year-old boy died while undergoing treatment at a hospital. The remaining 24 people, including the driver, sustained injuries and are being treated at the Community Health Centre in Bhimtal.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami instructed to provide a relief amount of Rs 10 lakh to the families of the people who lost their lives in the accident.

“On the instructions of Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami, relief amount will be provided to the dead and injured in the bus accident that took place in Okhal of Bhimtal. Relief amount of Rs 10 lakh will be provided to the families of the dead, Rs 3 lakh to the seriously injured persons and Rs 15- Rs 25 thousand to the normally injured persons,” the CMO release said.

The minister also expressed grief over the incident and directed the local administration to carry out an immediate rescue operation.

“The news of the bus accident near Bhimtal is very saddening. The local administration has been directed to carry out immediate relief and rescue operations. I pray to Baba Kedar for the safety of all the travellers.” Chief Minister Dhami posted on X.

Rescue teams from the local administration, state disaster response force, fire department and the police used ropes to pull out the survivors from the gorge with the help of local residents.

Senior Superintendent of Police (Traffic and Crime) Jagdish Chand said, “The bus, which was travelling from Pithoragarh to Haldwani, fell 100 meters (approximately 320 feet) into the ditch. Police officials reached the spot after receiving the information.”

A speeding bus ran over six women in Uttarakhand this evening. One of the women died on the spot. The bus seemed out of control as it hit the women in footage recorded by a nearby CCTV camera.

Three other women, who were also in the path of the bus, narrowly escaped being hit by the bus while a scooter approaching from the opposite side also managed to swerve just in time to avoid a collision, footage showed.

The women were waiting for autos on the Kashipur Road near Alliance flyover in Rudrapur when the bus rammed them from behind. The injured were rushed for treatment to the district hospital. One of the injured is critical, said officials.

“We received the information about the accident around 5 pm.We have initiated a thorough investigation into the matter. The body of the victim has been sent for postmortem, while medical teams are actively treating the other injured women,” said said Manjunath TC, Senior Superintendent of Police, Udham Singh Nagar.

The yellow bus had a banner with St Mary’s Senior Secondary School’s name written on it, although authorities have yet to confirm its affiliation with any school. “The bus looked like a school bus in the video but we are not sure about it as of yet. But it was a private bus,” he said.