Saturday, August 31, 2013

At least 40 killed as open truck carrying wedding party rolls into Himachal Pradesh gorge


At least 40 killed as open truck carrying wedding party rolls into Himachal Pradesh gorge, and bus crashes in similar accident nearby

India, where a bus and a wedding party truck have crashed, has the highest annual road death toll
India, where a bus and a wedding party truck have crashed into a gorge, has the world's highest annual road death toll. Photograph: Mukhtar Khan/AP
A bus and an open truck carrying a wedding party have rolled into gorges in India's mountainous north, killing at least 40 people in two separate accidents.
The trucked flipped over at a curve in the road in Himachal Pradesh state's Chamba district on Wednesday night, police said.
Rescuers recovered 33 bodies and took seven injured people to hospital, said police officer Madhusudan.
The Press Trust of India news agency said the gorge was 90 metres (300ft) deep. The region is nearly 100 miles (160km) north-west of the town of Dharamsala.
Another seven people were killed in a nearby accident when their bus plunged into a gorge, Madhusudan said. They were being driven home from a nearby power project.
The drivers in both accidents were killed, and police were investigating what caused the crashes, Madhusudan said.
India, the world's second most populous nation, has the highest annual road death toll, according to the World Health Organisation.
More than 110,000 people die each year across the country in crashes caused by speeding, bad roads, overcrowding and poor vehicle maintenance, according to police.

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