Srinagar, India (CNN) -- At least 20 bus passengers were killed and a dozen others injured in a traffic accident Tuesday in Indian-administered Kashmir.
A senior police officer said the bus rolled into a deep gorge beside the Jammu-Srinagar highway after it skidded off the road when the driver lost control.
"The bus hurtled down several hundred meters from the serpentine mountainous road ... killing 18 passengers on the spot while 14 injured were evacuated to hospital," Dilbagh Singh, inspector general of police in the Jammu zone, told CNN.
"We pressed into service army choppers to ferry the injured to hospital for specialized treatment. Two injured persons succumbed in hospital, taking the toll to 20," he added.
He said some of the injured were in serious condition.
The government quickly announced it will provide compensation payments to the families of the dead and to the injured.
Highway accidents are common in the area because of bad road conditions, overloading and speeding.