July 1 (UPI) -- Nearly three dozen people were killed in Kashmir's Kishtwar district Monday when a bus crashed into a gorge, authorities said.
Officials said at least 35 died and more than a dozen were injured. Three were flown to a hospital in Jammu.
Kishtwar deputy commissioner Angrez Singh Rana told ANI 52 passengers were on the 28-seat bus when it ran off the roadway and into the gorge. Gov. Satyapal Malik announced an investigation and offered financial aid to relatives.
The accident was one of a string of deadly accidents in Kashmir that involved an overcrowded or speeding vehicle and poor road conditions. Eleven students died last week when a bus rolled into a gorge in Pir Ki Gali.
"The accident in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar is heart-wrenching," India Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter. "We mourn all those who lost their lives and express condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover at the earliest."
"I pray of the speedy recovery of those injured," Home Minister Amit Shah added.
