(Image source from: The Hindu)

At least 33 dead and one person severely injured after a bus they were traveling plunged into a 500 ft gorge in Ambenali Ghat region of Maharashtra's Raigad district on Saturday.

Nearly 34 staff members of the Dapoli Agriculture University were headed to Mahabaleshwar when the bus met with an accident.

NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) teams have been rushed to the area and rescue operations are on.

The tragedy occurred sometime after 9 a.m. at the Ambenali Ghat near Poladpur when the bus slid off the mountainous road and crashed into the gorge.

One of the passengers, identified as Prakash Rajaram Savant Desai, reportedly survived the accident as he jumped from the bus.

By Sowmya Sangam