23 die when bus plunges down bridge in southern India

23 die when bus plunges down bridge in southern India

2011-06-08 13:07:08 GMT+7 (ICT)

KAVERIPAKKAM, INDIA (BNO NEWS) -- Twenty-three people were killed on Tuesday evening when the private bus they were on plunged down a small bridge in southern India, local media reported on Wednesday.

The Times of India reported on its website that the accident happened on a bridge near Kaveripakkam, a town in the Vellore district of Tamil Nadu state, when the bus driver reportedly lost control while trying to overtake two vehicles.

The report said the bus was on its way from Chennai, the state's capital, to Tiruppur, a city on the banks of the Noyyal River. A total of 25 people, including the bus driver, were said to have been on board.

After the bus plunged down the small bridge, which went over a culvert, the vehicle caught fire. Many of the victims were burned beyond recognition, according to The Times of India. It said one passenger and the bus driver escaped alive, but the 23 others were killed.

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.

According to India's National Crime Records Bureau, there were 126,896 deaths in 2009. This amount represented a 7.3 percent increase in comparison with 2008. Road accidents caused 37.9 percent of the country's deaths due to unnatural causes last year.

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