South India bus crash kills at least 55 people as vehicle plunges off road

Driver loses control after hitting speed bump, officials say

Deadly bus accidents are common in India and more than 100,000 people die every year on the country's roads (AP)

A bus carrying pilgrims from a Hindu temple in the hills of south India plunged off a road on Tuesday, killing at least 55 people. At least 25 others were injured.

Officials said the driver lost control after hitting a speed bump as he tried to avoid another bus on the crowded road leading from the popular Anjaneya Swamy temple in Telangana state.

On Tuesdays, crowds often throng the temple, which is dedicated to the Hindu god Hanuman.

Passers-by rushed to help after the bus crashed off the road, mangling the front of the vehicle.

Volunteers crawled into the bus through broken windows, carrying the dead and injured though thick grass and up the hill to the road. The injured were taken to local hospitals.

An investigation has been ordered into the cause of the accident, said Narendar, a local official who used only one name.

"Shocked to learn about the bus accident," President Ram Nath Kovind said in a tweet. "Thoughts with the bereaved families and those injured."

More than 100,000 people die every year on India's roads, often because of reckless driving, badly maintained roads and vehicles overcrowded with passengers.

Deadly bus accidents are common. In July, 48 people were killed when a bus crashed into a gorge in Uttarakhand state.

Associated Press