A bus full of passengers went out of control and fell into a 150 feet deep gorge in Marchula of Salt development block of Almora district of Uttarakhand. 36 people died in the accident. 34 injured were brought to Ramnagar Hospital. Eight of them died here. Six injured were airlifted to Rishikesh, while 11 have been referred elsewhere.

Nine people are undergoing treatment in Ramnagar Hospital. It is being told that the accident happened due to the breaking of the spring of the bus. There were about 63 passengers in the 42 seater bus of Garhwal Motor Users Cooperative Society (Users). At the same time, half a kilometer before the incident spot, the driver had sensed something untoward ahead. The driver had told the passengers that if anyone wants to get down, they should get down because the road ahead is bad. No passenger got off the bus. If the passengers had listened to the driver, many lives could have been saved.

Many kinds of discussions are going on about the bus accident that happened near Marchula on Marchula-Gaulikhal-Motor Road on Monday morning. Many passengers who survived the accident were also seen telling the administration officials who reached the spot that the bus got stuck in the road and started shaking about half a kilometer before the place where the accident happened, so the driver stopped the bus and said that if anyone wants to get down, he can, but no passenger got down. After this, the driver drove off with the bus and this accident happened. The passengers say that if they had taken the driver's words seriously and got down, many lives could have been saved.

The passengers who survived the accident told that as soon as the bus fell into the ditch, they did not get a chance to recover. Passengers started falling on each other. Many passengers also fainted after hitting their heads on stones. By the time people reached the spot, they had died.

At the accident spot, a passenger's phone was lying somewhere, while packets of cold drinks, pakodas and chips were scattered somewhere else. The passengers were travelling happily, but they died on the way.

The accident in Marchula had also increased the concern of the migrants. Migrants living in various states including Mumbai, Delhi, Kanpur, Madras, Gurugram, Madhya Pradesh, Jaipur started taking updates about this incident. People kept taking information about the incident on WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram. Migrants called their loved ones and inquired about their well-being.

Various things are coming to the fore regarding the accident near Marchula. The government has already ordered an investigation into the entire matter. Action will be taken on the basis of the investigation.

- Alok Kumar Pandey, District Magistrate Almora.