Bus in India plunges into reservoir, killing 29

NEW DELHI //  A bus carrying wedding guests plunged into a reservoir, killing 29 people in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, a police official said Wednesday. At least five people swam to safety.

The bus veered off the road and fell into the deep waters of the reservoir late Tuesday, said Ramesh Babu, a police control room official in Mysore, a city near the site of the accident.

Five people who swam ashore were hospitalized, Babu said. Local villagers and police recovered 29 bodies, including those of 25 women and children, and divers were scouring the reservoir to find more bodies, he said.

It was not immediately clear how many people were traveling in the bus, which was returning from a wedding in a nearby village.

Press Trust of India said the driver lost control of the bus when he swerved to avoid a pothole.

The accident took place in Nanjagud village just outside Mysore, which is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) southwest of Bangalore, India's software hub.

India has the highest annual road death toll in the world, according to the World Health Organization. More than 110,000 people die annually in road accidents, according to police figures.

Most of the accidents are caused by speeding, bad roads, overcrowding and poor vehicle maintenance.