16 Indian pilgrims killed as bus falls into gorge in Kashmir

SRINAGAR, India — A bus plunged into a 45-meter-deep (150-foot-deep) gorge in the Indian portion of Kashmir on Sunday, killing at least 16 Hindu pilgrims on their way to a cave shrine in the Himalayas.

Police officer S.P. Vaid said the bus swerved off a mountain road and injured dozens. The cause of the accident was not immediately clear.

A police statement said 27 injured, 19 in critical condition, were taken to hospitals in Banihal, a town 120 kilometres (75 miles) south of Srinagar, the main city in Indian-held Kashmir.

Police said it had rained in the area, making the road slippery. Some landslides caused a heavy traffic jam on the main highway linking Srinagar with the rest of India.