A bus crashed down a 650ft canyon, killing 36 passengers onboard in India.

The bus veered off the road and plummeted into a 200-metre gorge in Almora, Uttarakhand, on Monday, November 4.

The 43-seater bus owned by Garhwal Motor Owners Union Ltd reportedly carried around 60 individuals. Ten were injured, and at least five remain missing.

District Magistrate Alok Kumar Pandey stated that the accident happened in Marchula, Ramnagar, while the vehicle was travelling from Garhwal to Kumaon.

The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) has assisted with ongoing rescue efforts.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed his condolences and urged the relevant authorities to expedite the rescue operation.

He said: 'Relief and rescue efforts must be carried out quickly, the district administration has been told. At the scene of the tragedy, the SDRF personnel and local government are moving quickly to evacuate the injured and transport them to the closest medical facility for care.'

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the crash.

In a separate incident, 40 passengers were injured when a coach crashed into a ravine in Maharashtra on September 23.

Twenty individuals were also wounded on September 30 when a bus lost control and collided with a canter truck on the Mysuru-Bengaluru Highway.

In Rajasthan, 12 passengers died, and over 40 were injured when a bus veered out of control and collided head-on with a culvert on October 29.

A state-run bus crashed into a parked coach in Telangana on November 2, injuring 30 passengers.

India has one of the highest rates of road accidents in the world, with thousands of fatalities and injuries reported each year.

The poor track record is blamed on unsafe road conditions, reckless driving, inadequate enforcement of traffic laws, and a lack of awareness about road safety.