The first accident in the state of Himachal Pradesh involved an overloaded lorry carrying people returning from a wedding in Chamba district, 400 kilometres (250 miles) from the state capital Shimla.

It lost control and plunged into a gorge near Shekpur village, state official Ashwini Kumar said. "Thirty people died on the spot, four children succumbed to their injuries in the hospital," he told AFP.

In the second incident, seven people were killed when their car fell into a gorge in the same district, where the narrow winding mountain roads claim lives each year.

India has the highest annual road death toll in the world, according to the World Health Organization, with accidents caused by speeding, careless driving and poor roads.