By SPA
New Delhi : A bus carrying pilgrims to Hindu shrines in southwestern India careened over the side of a steep hill Sunday night, killing 37 and injuring more than 40 others, police said.
Five children were among the dead, said Nikhil Gupta, the police superintendent in Nashik, about 160 km (100 miles) east of Mumbai.
He said the crash happened about 9:45 p.m. (4:15 p.m. GMT) on a poorly lit rural road outside Nashik.
“It appeared the driver lost control at a narrow, hairpin-turn section of road,” Gupta said. The bus, which was carrying 72 people, dropped at least 50 feet and broke apart upon hitting the ground, he said.
The bus was only made to seat 45 people but was carrying about 80 passengers when it crashed, Gupta told the Associated Press.