At least 17 people were killed and 20 others injured when a bus fell into a gorge near Ghansali town in Uttarakhand's Tehri district.

The mishap occurred when the bus carrying nearly 40 passengers skidded off the road and fell into the ditch, the police said.

The injured are being taken to a nearby hospital.

This is not the first such incident in the region this year.

At least 18 people were killed and 28 injured when a bus carrying a marriage party fell into a deep khud in Rudraprayag district on March 13.

Neighbouring Himachal Pradesh has seen four major bus accidents since November.

In November, 13 people were killed when a bus plunged into a gorge in Kullu.

In December, 14 people were killed in an accident near Solan.

On June 21,  a bus fell into a gorge in Kainchimode near Dharamsala, killing 11 people.