At least 51 people were killed on Thursday when an overcrowded bus taking them to a wedding skidded off the road and slid into a pond in north-east India, police said.
“We have extricated 51 bodies so far. There could be some more people in the pond and divers are at work,” a police official told Agence France-Presse.
The victims included children and elderly people.
Most people drowned after being trapped in the bus which plunged deep into the pond, said another police official.
The bus was carrying about 70 people from the village of Raha in the eastern state of Assam to Goumari village in the same state when it veered off the road in heavy rain early on Thursday, police said.
Local people were diving into the pond to help in rescue efforts as relatives of victims waited anxiously on the banks. The accident was the deadliest in recent memory in the hilly state where roads curve sharply and are often in poor condition.
Police said they were not immediately sure what caused the driver to lose control. The bus went off the road while negotiating a sharp bend near Goumari, 140km west of Assam’s main city Guwahati.
At least 10 people were being treated in hospital, some with serious injuries.
The bridegroom, who was travelling in another vehicle following the bus, was not involved in the accident. The bride was waiting for him in Goumari village.
Bus accidents are common in India and are often blamed on rash driving.
Earlier on Thursday, 15 people died and 25 were injured when a bus plunged into a gorge in northern India after the driver was believed to have fallen asleep at the wheel, police officer Alok Sharma said.
The bus was travelling to the popular tourist hill station of Almora in Uttaranchal state from New Delhi. — AFP