Bus accident in Kashmir kills at least 6 Indian soldiers

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — A bus carrying paramilitary soldiers in Indian-controlled Kashmir skidded off a mountainous road and rolled down into a river on Tuesday, killing at least six and injuring dozens of others, officials said.

People injured in the accident in the southern Pahalgam area were being flown to a military hospital in the region’s main city of Srinagar, police said in a tweet.

Officials said the bus was carrying at least 39 soldiers and two police officials who were among thousands of government forces who had been deployed to protect a Hindu pilgrimage to a Himalayan cave. The pilgrimage ended last week.

The paramilitary Indo Tibetan Border Police said the apparent cause of the accident was brake failure.

India has the world’s deadliest roads, with hundreds of thousands of people killed and injured annually. Most accidents are blamed on reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and aging vehicles.