Baby among four killed when tourist bus plunges into 40-foot gorge after driver loses control, injuring 13 in India

FOUR people have been killed in a horror accident involving a bus full of tourists in India.

The victims include a one-year-old child who died when the vehicle fell 40 feet into a gorge at Mankulam in Idukki on Tuesday afternoon.

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The tourists were traveling from Theni and Erode in Tamil Nadu to Anakkulam in Mankulam when tragedy struck in Pemaram, near Anakkulam, according to Police.

They were on their way to Anakkulam water hole.

According to local reports, the driver of the bus lost control at Permaram, on the Munnar-Adimaly route, around 4:30 pm local time and the vehicle plunged into the gorge.

Thirteen people were injured and rushed to hospital by both locals and fire and rescue services.

Eleven people are now being treated at Adimali Taluk Hospital, while two others have been shifted to Theni Medical College.

The bodies of the deceased were taken to Adimaly Taluk Hospital for post-mortem examination.

The group of people on the bus were part of a family trip organized by Tirunalveli Ajanta Pressure Cooker Company for its staff and families, police said.

Before the crash, they had been in Munnar since Sunday evening and were staying at a resort in Lakshmi.

Earlier, in November at least 38 people were killed when a bus slid off a mountain road in India and plunged 250 meters into a gorge.

Nineteen others were left with serious injuries.

Emergency crews searched the wreckage of the bus for survivors and towed them to safety.

There were at least 50 people on the bus when it fell off the side of the mountain.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent a message to the victims and their families at the time.

He said, “The bus accident in Doda, Jammu and Kashmir is distressing.

“My condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover as quickly as possible.”