At least 39 dead in India bus accident

At least 39 people have been killed after a bus plunged into a river in the western Indian state of Gujarat, a local official has said.

Most of the dead are children who were travelling to a school in Baroda when the bus fell into the Narmada river.

Four children have been rescued, the local official said.

The Narmada, one of India's largest rivers, originates in central India and flows through the west of the country before emptying into the Arabian sea.

Local official Ketan Thakkar told reporters that divers had recovered 39 bodies from the river, including that of the bus driver.

He said it was unclear how many passengers were on the bus.

Reports said that a school in Bodeli in Baroda district had hired the bus to transport pupils and that the children were on the way to attend examinations when the incident happened early on Wednesday.

They say the driver may have been over speeding and lost control of the bus.