Dozens were killed after a bus crashed into a river in the Indian state of Rajasthan after it smashed through the railings on a bridge on Friday night.
Various reports put the death toll between 27 and 33 as emergency services attended the scene in Sawai Madhopur district, after the privately hired vehicle plunged into the Banas river.
The driver apparently lost control due to poor visibility and that the bus was travelling at high speed.
According to one news report, the driver was sleeping and the 16-year-old conductor was at the wheel, after a senior police officer suggested that was the case. Both the driver an conductor died in the crash.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his sympathy to the bereaved, and spoke of his "anguish" at the incident.
Anguished by the bus accident in Rajasthan's Sawai Madhopur district. My thoughts are with the families of the deceased. State Government is closely monitoring the situation, including rescue operations and providing all possible assistance to those affected: PM @narendramodi
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) December 23, 2017
The Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Vasundhara Raje, tweeted that the state government has been closely monitoring the situation and that emergency services were at the scene.
The Congress Party president, Rahul Gandhi, also asked his colleagues in Rajasthan to help in any way. He tweeted, "Saddened by the tragedy. My condolences are with the families of the deceased. I would appeal to the state government to offer immediate help to the affected."
The passengers were largely from the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, and on a trip to see the the venerated Ramdev temple, a deity who is worshipped as a champion of the downtrodden and poor.
AFP/Getty Images
The bus was carrying 45 passengers, and a search and rescue operation was ongoing to account for them all. The bodies of the dead passengers were taken out of the river and sent to the local mortuary.
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Superintendent of Rajasthan Police Maman Singh said the cause of crash would be subject to an inquiry. But he added that initial evidence suggested that an untrained minor was driving the bus.
Most of the dead, including the bus driver, drowned, said state officials, and they feared that the death toll could increase.
Hundreds of Hindu, and some Muslim, devotees from towns in Rajasthan and the neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh travel to the Ramdev temple on every Tuesday and Saturday for prayers.