1st LD Writethru: 30 killed after bus falls into deep gorge in India's Meghalaya

At least 30 people were killed and eight others injured after a bus carrying them skidded off a mountainous road and fell into a deep gorge in India's northeastern state of Meghalaya, officials said Wednesday.

The mishap happened on Tuesday night near Sonapur Mandir, East Jaintia Hills, about 140 km southeast of Shillong, the capital city of Meghalaya.

"Last night a bus carrying passengers from neighbouring state of Assam fell into a gorge near Sonapur here," said Khliehriat, a police official posted at the district headquarters.

"Around 30 people are believed to be killed in the accident and rescue teams that were rushed to the spot this morning evacuated eight people in injured condition," he added.

Reports said the bodies were yet to be retrieved from the gorge and rescuers were using ropes to reach the mangled vehicle in the gorge.

Officials said inclement weather conditions and poor mobile network connectivity have hampered the rescue operations.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday expressed deep pain and sorrow over the loss of lives in the accident.

"Deeply pained by the loss of lives caused by a bus mishap in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills District," Modi wrote on Twitter. "My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the deceased in this hour of grief."

The ill-fated bus was on its way from neighbouring state of Assam's Silchar to Guwahati city. The number of passengers in the bus at the time of accident was not known.

Deadly road accidents are common in India, often caused due to overloading, bad condition of roads and reckless driving.

Last year, 146,133 people were killed and 500,279 others injured in 501,423 road accidents across India, a latest report released by India's ministry of road transport said. Endit