Teams of rescue and aid teams were dispatched to the area, and authorities feared the death toll could rise further, especially as the seven passengers in hospital were in critical condition.

Television footage showed parts of the bus being crushed and destroyed after it overturned on a rocky slope near a stream. Rescue teams were seen trying to extract the passengers and carrying the bodies on stretchers.

The state’s chief minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, said earlier that rescue teams were working to quickly evacuate injured passengers to nearby hospitals and that authorities had been instructed to airlift those seriously injured.

Another official in the state, Vineet Pal, said the state government had launched an investigation into the accident. He added that preliminary information showed that the wrecked bus skidded before rolling down a 60-meter (200-foot) deep ravine.

Some of the passengers who managed to escape or jumped out due to the impact reported the situation to the authorities. Pal said two transport officials who approved a bus in poor condition were suspended.

India has some of the highest road death rates in the world, with hundreds of thousands of people killed and injured every year. Most accidents are caused by careless driving, poorly maintained roads and obsolete vehicles.

In July, at least 18 people died when a double-decker passenger bus collided with a milk truck in the state of Uttar Pradesh. In May, a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims skidded on a mountainous highway in Indian-controlled Kashmir and plunged into a deep gorge, killing at least 21 people.