Oman bus crash kills 46

The bus careered off a mountain road

Forty-six people have been killed in a bus crash in southern Oman.

Police say the vehicle, which was travelling to the town of Salalah, 900 kilometres (558 miles) south of the capital, Oman, skidded off a mountain road and crashed into a valley.

Those who died were construction workers from the same company.

An investigation is under way into what caused the crash.

"We presume at this stage that the driver lost control after he failed to observe the speed limit," a police statement said.

But an official from the construction company, Al-Nahdah al-Omania, said the firm suspected a mechanical failure was to blame.

At least eight passengers survived the crash and were taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Al-Nahdah al-Omania said most of its workers on the bus were from the Indian sub-continent.

Four of the dead were Omanis, the official ONA news agency said.