Seventeen die when bus plunges off bridge in western India

[News_Editor]

Seventeen die when bus plunges off bridge in western India

2011-03-17 20:06:49 GMT+7 (ICT)

NAGPUR, INDIA (BNO NEWS) -- At least seventeen pilgrims were killed in the western Indian state of Maharashtra on Thursday when a bus plunged off a bridge, local media reported.

The Times of India newspaper said the bus accident happened in the early morning hours on the Nanganga bridge near Tandulwadi village in Buldana district. The bus was on its way back from Shirdi and Shanishignapur when it plunged off the bridge.

According to police, as cited by the newspaper, at least 17 pilgrims were killed while 28 others were injured. Some of the injured were in a critical condition, while the fatalities included two couples.

An investigation into the cause of the accident is underway.

India is often the scene of deadly road accidents, many of which are attributed to reckless driving, aging vehicle and overloading. In new figures released last year, India overtook China to top the world in road fatalities.

Earlier this month, 32 wedding guests were killed when a truck carrying more than 40 people plunged down a ravine in northern India. And in early January, nearly two dozen people were killed when a tour bus overturned and fell into a gorge in northern India. It happened near the village of Shiv Mandir in Uttarakhand state, not far from the state's capital of Dehradun.

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