Dozens killed in bus bridge plunge
The wreckage of a bus after an accident in Sawai Madhopur district, India (AP/Rajasthan Patrika)
Monday March 15 2010
At least 26 students and teachers were killed when a bus fell from a bridge into a dry riverbed in northwestern India.
Another 34 passengers were injured, 10 of them seriously, in the accident in Sawai Madhopur district, nearly 115 miles west of Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan state, said police official Vikas Kumar.
All the injured were taken to hospital.
Mr Kumar said the driver apparently lost control of the vehicle and it smashed through bridge railings and plunged into the riverbed.
The victims were from a teacher training institute and were returning to Khanpur in Rajasthan state after visiting the Hindu pilgrimage centre of Haridwar in Uttarakhand state.
Accidents occur frequently on roads in India and are often blamed on reckless driving, ageing vehicles and overloading.
