India bus plunge 'kills 40'

Police in the north-eastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh say more than 40 people have been killed and 17 others seriously injured when a private bus plunged into a deep gorge.

The police said the bus, which was packed with 70 passengers, went off the road near the state capital, Itanagar, after the driver lost control.

Officials said 42 bodies had been recovered but doctors said the death toll could rise.

The BBC correspondent in Calcutta says the accident is the worst for many years in remote north-eastern India, where buses and trucks often veer off mountain roads and plunge into deep gorges.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service