A Maharashtra Roadways bus going from Indore to Pune fell off the Khalghat Sanjay Setu bridge today and plunged into the Narmada River in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh, leaving at least 13 people dead.
As per the reports by ANI quoting Madhya Pradesh minister Narottam Mishra, 15 people were rescued from the site.
Reportedly, the bus carrying passengers broke through the barrier of the Khalghat bridge and fell from a height of around 100ft into the Narmada river in Dhar district this morning.
The bus was moving from Indore to Pune, when it broke the barrier and fell into the river, he said adding heavy machinery was deployed to drag the vehicle out of the water.
A team of state disaster response force (SDRF) is at the spot and coordinating with local fishermen in carrying out the rescue operation.
Senior officials from Indore and Dhar have rushed to the spot to take stock of the rescue work.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has taken cognizance of the bus accident.
Taking to microblogging site Twitter, the CM paid tributes to the deceased and their families.
As rescue operations continue, around 40 passengers could have been on board the bus.
As per the officials, the bus has been retrieved amid heavy rainfall in the area.
Although the reason for the accident is not yet known, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said brake or steering failure may have resulted in the accident.
(With inputs from agencies)