Twelve people were killed and five injured when a privately-owned mini bus rolled down a gorge in Himachal Pradesh's Chamba district Saturday, officials said.

 

 The death toll could rise as rescue operations are going on.

 

 The bus, bound for Himgiri village, fell into a 700-metre gorge near Shool nullah in Salooni tehsil, some 90 km from Chamba town.

 

 The driver probably lost control at a hairpin bend and the vehicle plunged into the gorge.

 

 Locals started rescue operations before the authorities could reach the spot.

 

 Most of the dead were from Chamba district, one of the remotest places in the state.

 

 Scarcity of public transport and poor frequency of government-run buses in this far-flung district are blamed for overloading of the vehicles.