Himachal bus tragedy: 14 killed, over 30 injured as bus falls into gorge in Sirmaur, PM Modi reacts

14 people feature been killed and o'er 20 others injured after a buck private jalopy strike down into a 500-feet deep gorge in Himachal Pradesh. The incident took place on Friday afternoon in the Sirmaur district.The bus was travelling from Shimla to Kupvi via Rajgarh when it went off the road near Haripurdhar village and plunged nearly 500 feet into the gorge. The vehicle landed upside down at the site of the accident, which is approximately 95 kilometres from the district headquarters in Nahan, according to news agency PTI.Also read| Demolition drive near mosque in Old Delhi's Turkman Gate area turns violeOfficials said the private bus had a seating capacity of 39 passengers and was overloaded at the time of the crash. The exact number of passengers on board is yet to be confirmed.Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences to the family and announced an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh to the deceased.“The loss of lives due to a bus mishap in Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh, is extremely saddening. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. Praying for the speedy recovery of those injured. An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given ₹50,000,” PM Modi said in a post on X.Rescue operation underwaySangrah Sub-Divisional Magistrate Sunil Kayath, who is supervising the rescue efforts, said operations are being carried out on a war footing. He told PTI that the injured are being shifted to hospitals in Sangrah and Dadahu for treatment.Emergency teams, police personnel and district administration officials are present at the site, while locals joined hands to pull survivors out of the wreckage.Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed deep sorrow over the tragedy. In a statement, he directed district authorities to extend all possible assistance to the families of the deceased and ensure proper medical care for those injured.Condolences were also expressed by BJP national president and Union Health Minister J P Nadda, Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, state BJP chief Rajiv Bindal, Shimla MP Suresh Kashyap and Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri.Industry Minister and local MLA from the Shillai assembly segment, Harshwardhan Chauhan, said the district administration has been put on alert. He added that medical teams and doctors at hospitals in Dadahu, Sangrah and Nahan have been asked to remain prepared for emergencies.Videos circulating on social media show residents helping rescuers carry injured passengers up the steep slope.The cause of the accident is yet to be determined. However, locals at the spot suspect the driver may have lost control of the vehicle due to frost on the road, causing it to skid and fall into the gorge.(With PTI inputs)