Bus accident in Indian-controlled Kashmir kills 21 people

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — A passenger bus slid off a Himalayan highway and rolled down a steep, rocky slope onto a road below in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Monday, killing at least 21 people and injuring about 45 others, officials said.

The 42-seater bus was carrying more than 60 people from Ramnagar town to Udhampur city when it hit an auto-rickshaw at a sharp curve in the mountainous region, civil administrator Prem Singh said.

The bus veered off the road and fell down about 100 feet (30 meters) onto the road below, Singh said. The people on the three-wheeler also were injured, he added.

Residents and authorities rushed to the accident scene and launched a rescue operation. Singh said 19 passengers died on the spot while two others died in a hospital after their evacuation. The injured, some of them in critical condition, are being treated in various health centers, officials said.