20 die as bus fall into Himachal gorge

Shimla, Aug 11 (IANS) At least 20 people were killed Saturday when an overcrowded bus skidded off the road and rolled into a gorge in Himachal Pradesh's Chamba district, police said.

The private bus was coming to Chamba town when it fell into the gorge near Rajera, some 10 km from Chamba town.

"Bodies of 20 people have been recovered. Rescue operation is still on," Superintendent of Police Kuldeep Sharma told IANS on the phone from the accident spot.

The exact number of passengers in the bus at the time of accident was not known, he said. He said the toll could rise.

Most of the dead were from Chamba district.

The spot of the accident, about 475 km from the state capital, has been witnessing moderate to heavy rains for the past few days.