NEW DELHI, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Seven minors have miraculously survived Sunday's fatal bus crash in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand that claimed 48 lives, but most of them has been left orphaned, police said Monday.
The privately owned bus, carrying some 60 people, including a driver and a conductor, had skidded off a steep mountain road and fell into a 60-meter deep gorge on Pipali-Bhoan motorway in Pauri Garhwal district, some 200 km from state capital Dehradun, Sunday morning.
"While 45 people died on the spot, two succumbed to their injuries at a hospital later in the day, while another injured person passed away late Sunday night. Only 12 people survived the crash, of which seven are minors," a police official said.
Though the minors miraculously survived the accident, most of them have lost their parents, according to police.
"The youngest survivor is a two-year-old girl whose entire family died in the accident. She has been handed over to her relatives after initial medical care," local police chief Jagat Ram Joshi told the media.
Two other children - a four-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl - also had luckily escaped death though they sustained injuries and are undergoing treatment at the premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh where they were airlifted.
"Both the kids brought here are stable. They did suffer injuries but are better now," Ravi Kant, the state-run hospital's director, told the media.
Three other minor survivors are also undergoing treatment at hospitals, doctors said.
Meanwhile, a preliminary probe has indicated that the 28-seater bus was overloaded with 60 people and it was going to Ramnagar from Bhoan when the accident occurred.
"The bus was also travelling at high speed and the driver lost control while negotiating a curve, leading to the accident. The bus driver and the conductor died on the spot, but we have already registered a case," another police official said.
Accidents are common in the hilly state of Uttarakhand. In another accident, some 13 pilgrims were killed and 11 others injured after a private bus tumbled and fell into a gorge in Totam village in the state's Almora district in May.
