Nearly 20 dead, over 25 injured from bus mishap in central India

NEW DELHI, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 20 people died and more than 25 others were injured when a private bus fell off from a bridge in India's central state of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday, a local lawmaker told Xinhua.

The incident occurred in the Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh. The passenger bus, which was moving from Khargone towards the state's Indore city, fell off from an estimated height of 50 feet onto the dry riverbed.

The injured were admitted to a local hospital. "The death toll is feared to rise as many of the injured are in critical condition. The bus was overloaded. The mishap could have occurred due to over-speeding," said Ravi Joshi, a local lawmaker over phone.

Expressing condolences for the loss of lives in the bus accident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced monetary compensation for the families of the dead and those injured.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan too announced additional monetary compensation for the victims.