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Most of the dead are children who were travelling to a school in Bodeli when the bus fell into the Narmada river.

Four children have been rescued, the local official said.

The Narmada, one of India's largest rivers, originates in central India and flows through the west of the country before emptying into the Arabian sea.

Local official Ketan Thakkar told reporters that divers had recovered 39 bodies from the river, including that of the bus driver.

He said it was unclear how many passengers were on the bus.

'Heading to examination'

Reports said that a school in Bodeli had hired the bus to transport pupils and that the children were on the way to attend examinations when the incident happened early on Wednesday.

They say the driver may have been over speeding and lost control of the bus.

Road accidents are common in India, claiming thousands of lives every year. Most of them are blamed on reckless driving and poorly maintained roads.

At least 19 people died after a school bus collided with a train at a railway crossing in the northern Indian state of Punjab last December.

In 2006, six children were killed after the bus carrying them to school plunged into a canal in neighbouring Haryana state.

Seventeen children were rescued by the police and villagers.

(BBC)

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