11 students killed when bus falls into gorge in Kashmir

Paramedics and locals carry a wounded woman on a stretcher for treatment after she was injured in a bus accident, at a hospital in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Thursday, June 27, 2019. Officials say a minibus carrying students to a picnic has fallen into a gorge along a Himalayan road in Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing at least 11 and injuring seven others. (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)

SRINAGAR, India — A minibus carrying students to a picnic fell into a gorge along a Himalayan road in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Thursday, killing at least 11 and injuring seven others, officials said.

The bus slipped off the road as its driver negotiated a curve near southern Shopian town, said civil administrator Mohammed Saleem Malik. He said the students attended a private computer center.

The injured students were hospitalized and two were in critical condition.

Another official, Owais Ahmad, said the bus was speeding at the time of the accident.

India has the world’s deadliest roads, with about 150,000 killed and 470,000 injured annually. Most crashes are blamed on reckless driving, poorly maintained roads, and aging vehicles. /kga