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 .
The bus skidded off the Jammu - Srinagar highway . Army vehicles are used to take the injured to hospital , they say . Poor road conditions , overloading and speeding are accidents common in the region .