At least 37 people have died and 18 others were injured after a passenger bus slid off a major Himalayan road and rolled down a steep slope in Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said.

The 42-seater bus was on the way to southern Jammu city from Kishtwar town when it veered off the road and fell about 660 feet onto an older road in the mountainous region, a civil administrator said.

Residents and authorities rushed to the scene and a rescue operation was launched.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the accident “distressing” on X, and offered condolences and financial assistance to the victims’ families.

The injured were taken to nearby health facilities. At least four people in a critical condition were transported to hospital in Jammu.

The exact cause of the crash was not immediately known, but police said that bus was overcrowded and speeding.