Bus plunges into river, killing 36

A bus carrying Hindu pilgrims in northern India plunged into a river, killing 36 people, according to reports today.

At least 16 others were injured when the bus toppled into the Parvati River in the lower Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh on Saturday night, Press Trust of India said, quoting local police officials.

The pilgrims were returning from the neighbouring Hindu shrine of Khirganga, PTI said. The area is located 225 miles north of India’s capital New Delhi.

At least 25 of those killed were women. The bus hurtled nearly 200ft down a steep mountainside before falling into the river, and most of the survivors were thrown out of the bus as it fell, the agency said.

Six bodies had been recovered, but their identities were not immediately known.

Villagers, firefighters and policemen were trying to lift the bus out of the river, but their efforts were hampered by heavy rain and difficult terrain, the agency said.