Kashmir bus plunge claims 53 lives

The bus was negotiating a steep curve near the town of Sainganji when it swerved off the road and fell 400 feet into a gorge, said J.B. Singh, a local police superintendent.

Villagers and police were helping to pull survivors from the wreckage of the bus, Singh said.

Sainganji is northwest of Jammu, the winter capital of India's portion of Kashmir.

The bus, which was carrying around 70 passengers, hurtled into the 400-feet (120-meter) gorge after the driver lost control of the vehicle on a hairpin mountain curve in the southern Rajouri district.

"We have recovered 52 bodies so far from the wreckage," a police official told AFP, adding the death toll was likely to rise.