2024 Almora bus accident

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Almora bus accident
India Uttarakhand location map.svg
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Details
Date4 November 2024
c. 8:45 a.m. IST
Location Marchula
2 km (1.2 mi) from Almora, Uttarakhand
Coordinates 29°36′31″N79°05′27″E / 29.6084924°N 79.0909563°E / 29.6084924; 79.0909563
CountryIndia
OperatorGarhwal Motor Owners Union
Service Garhwal to Kumaon
Incident typeFall into a 150 m (490 ft) gorge
Statistics
Passengers60
Crew2
Deaths38 [1]
Injured25 [2]

On 4 November 2024, a bus traveling from Garhwal to the Kumaon region in the Indian state of Uttarakhand fell into a gorge near Almora. 38 people were killed and 25 others were injured.

Contents

Crash

At about 6:30 a.m. IST on 4 November 2024, a bus carrying about 60 passengers returning to work after Diwali break and two crew was traveling from Garhwal to Kumaon region in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. [3] [4] [5] At around 8:45 a.m. while traveling on a hill side about 2 km (1.2 mi) from Marchula near Almora, the bus rod spring broke at a bend causing the bus to tilt and fall down 150m into a gorge. [6] [7] [8]

Emergency response

Uttarakhand Police from the Nainital district and three teams of the State Disaster Response Force were dispatched to the site. [9] Rescued passengers were admitted to nearby hospitals and three critically injured passengers were airlifted to AIIMS in Rishikesh for treatment. [10]

Victims

38 people were killed and 25 others were injured in the crash. [11] [12] [13]

On November 12, two of the 27 injured people succumbed to their injuries, making the death toll rise to 38. [6]

Cause

The bus was purportedly carrying 60 passengers including many standing passengers at the time of the incident, although the bus was built to hold only 42 passengers. [3] [14] Many people were reported to have died on the spot after being thrown out of the bus on impact. [15]

Reactions

The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami announced a compensation of 0.4 million (US$4,800) for the families of the deceased and 0.1 million (US$1,200) for the injured. [9] [11] Various leaders expressed their condolences on the accident. [7] [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kumaon division</span> Administrative division in India

Kumaon is a revenue and administrative division in the Indian State of Uttarakhand. It spans over the eastern half of the state and is bounded on the north by Tibet, on the east by Nepal, on the south by the state of Uttar Pradesh, and on the west by Garhwal. Kumaon comprises six districts of the state: Almora, Bageshwar, Champawat, Nainital, Pithoragarh and Udham Singh Nagar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garhwal division</span> Administrative division in India

Garhwal is one of the two administrative divisions of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Lying in the Himalayas, it is bounded on the north by Tibet, on the east by Kumaon, on the south by Uttar Pradesh state, and on the northwest by Himachal Pradesh state. It includes the districts of Chamoli, Dehradun, Haridwar, Pauri Garhwal, Rudraprayag, Tehri Garhwal, and Uttarkashi. The people of Garhwal are known as Garhwali and speak the Garhwali language. The administrative center for Garhwal division is the town of Pauri. The Divisional Commissioner is the administrative head of the Division, and is a senior Indian Administrative Service officer. As the administrative head of the division, the Commissioner is overall incharge of the 7 districts in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, and is aided in his duties by an additional commissioner and the district magistrates. Sushil Kumar is the divisional commissioner of the Garhwal Division since December 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uttarakhand</span> State in northern India

Uttarakhand, formerly known as Uttaranchal, is a state in northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the northwest, Tibet to the north, Nepal to the east, Uttar Pradesh to the south and southeast, with a small part touching Haryana in the west. Uttarakhand has a total area of 53,483 km2 (20,650 sq mi), equal to 1.6 per cent of the total area of India. Dehradun serves as the state capital, with Nainital being the judicial capital. The state is divided into two divisions, Garhwal and Kumaon, with a total of 13 districts. The forest cover in the state is 45.4 per cent of the state's geographical area. The cultivable area is 16 per cent of the total geographical area. The two major rivers of the state, the Ganges and its tributary Yamuna, originate from the Gangotri and Yamunotri glaciers respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Almora district</span> District of Uttarakhand in India

Almora is a district in the Kumaon Division of Uttarakhand state, India. The headquarters is at Almora. It is 1,638 meters above sea level. The neighbouring regions are Pithoragarh district to the east, Chamoli district to the west, Bageshwar district to the north and Nainital district to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haldwani</span> Metropolis in Uttarakhand, India

Haldwani is the largest city of Kumaon. It is also the third most populous city in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Haldwani is said to be the financial capital of Uttarakhand, having the most commercial, economic and industrial activities of the state. Haldwani is located in the Nainital District, and is one of its eight Subdivisions. The Haldwani Urban agglomeration has 232,060 people as of 2011, and is the third most populous UA in Uttarakhand, after Dehradun and Haridwar. Being situated in the immediate foothills of Kumaon Himalayas, the Kathgodam neighbourhood of Haldwani is known as the "Gateway to Kumaon".

Gairsain is a town in Chamoli district of the Indian state of Uttarakhand near state's summer capital Bhararisain. A town and Nagar Panchayat, Gairsain is situated at the eastern edge of the vast Dudhatoli mountain range, and is located in Chamoli district almost at the centre of the state, at a distance of approximately 250 kilometres from Dehradun. It is easily accessible from both the Garhwal and the Kumaon divisions, and in a way, acts as the bridge between the two regions. It is being considered as the future Permanent capital of Uttarakhand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nainital district</span> District of Uttarakhand in India

Nainital district is a district in Kumaon division which is a part of Uttarakhand state in India. The headquarters is at Nainital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pauri Garhwal district</span> District in Uttarakhand, India

Pauri Garhwal is a district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Its headquarters is in the town of Pauri. It is sometimes referred to simply as Garhwal district, though it should not be confused with the larger Garhwal region of which it is only a part of.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bageshwar</span> Town in Uttarakhand, India

Bageshwar is a town and a municipal board in Bageshwar district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is located at a distance of 470 km from the National Capital New Delhi and 332 km from the State Capital Dehradun. Bageshwar is known for its scenic environment, glaciers, rivers and temples. It is also the administrative headquarters of Bageshwar district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Almora</span> Town in Uttarakhand, India

Almora is a municipal corporation and a cantonment town in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Almora district. Almora is located on a ridge at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills of the Himalaya range. The Koshi (Kaushiki) and Suyal (Salmale) rivers flow along the city and snow-capped Himalayas can be seen in the background.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rudrapur, Uttarakhand</span> City in Uttarakhand, India

Rudrapur is a city that serves as the headquarters of the Udham Singh Nagar district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Located at a distance of about 250 km (160 mi) northeast of New Delhi and 250 km (160 mi) south of Dehradun, Rudrapur is located in the fertile Terai plains in the southern part of Kumaon division over an area of 27.65 km2. With a population of 140,857 according to the 2011 census of India, it is the 5th most populous city of Uttarakhand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baijnath, Uttarakhand</span> Town in Uttarakhand, India

Baijnath is a small town on the banks of the Gomati river in the Bageshwar district in Kumaon division of Uttarakhand, India. The place is most noted for its ancient temples, which have been recognized as Monuments of National Importance by the Archaeological Survey of India in Uttarakhand. Baijnath has been selected as one of the four places to be connected by the 'Shiva Heritage Circuit' in Kumaon, under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme of the Government of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Uttarakhand</span> State

Uttarakhand is a Himalayan state in North India, nestled between the Tibetan Plateau and the Indo-Gangetic Plains. The name, which means "northern land" or "section" or "northern part" in Sanskrit was made popular in the 80s as part of the wider statehood struggle within the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kumaon kingdom</span> Independent Himalayan kingdom (600–1791)

Kumaon kingdom was an independent Himalayan kingdom in Kumaon, a region located in the eastern part of the present-day Uttarakhand state of India. It was established around 7th century and remained an independent and sovereign kingdom until 1791.

The Uttarakhand movement refers to the events of statehood activism within the undivided state of Uttar Pradesh which ultimately resulted in the formation of Uttarakhand, India as a separate state.

On 6 June 2022, a bus carrying 55 passengers as a part of a marriage ceremony fell into the 500-meter-deep gorge at night near Simdi village in Dhumakot area Uttarakhand. 32 people were killed and the rest were heavily injured in the crash. The bus was being driven from Laldhang in Haridwar district to Birkhal block of Pauri district.

Rikhanikhal is a sub-Tehsil in the district Pauri Garhwal in the state of Uttarakhand. The sub-tehsil was created in the year 2016 and has 190 villages.

On 15 November 2023, 39 people died and 17 more were injured when the driver of a passenger bus lost control and the vehicle plunged into a 300–400 ft (91–122 m) deep gorge in the hilly area of Doda district in Jammu and Kashmir.

References

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