A bus fell into a deep gorge in Uttarakhand's Almora district on Monday, killing 23 of the 40 people on board and injuring 15.

While 22 people died on the spot, one succumbed to injuries while being taken to a hospital in Ramnagar, Almora's District Disaster Management Officer Vineet Pal told PTI.

The bus was going from Garhwal to Kumaon when the accident took place at Marchula in Almora, District Magistrate Alok Kumar Pandey said.

So far seven deaths have been reported, he said.

The casualties may go up as there were around 40 passengers in the bus when it fell into a 200-metre deep gorge, Pandey said. Police and SDRF personnel have reached the spot to launch a search and rescue operation, he said.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed grief at the loss of lives in the accident.

"Received very sad news of casualties of passengers in the unfortunate bus accident that took place in Marchula of Almora district. The district administration has been instructed to conduct relief and rescue operations swiftly," he said on X.

"The local administration and SDRF teams are working swiftly to evacuate the injured and take them to the nearest health centre for treatment. Instructions have also been given to airlift the seriously injured passengers, if required," he said.

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