PATNA: At least 24 people were killed and 50 injured on Saturday when an overcrowded bus collided with a truck in eastern India, police said.

The bus driver lost control of the vehicle on a sharp bend near a market in Dhanarua village, 35 kilometres (22 miles) from Bihar state capital Patna, senior police official Amit Kumar Jain told AFP.

Jain said 21 bodies were recovered from the crash site and three people died en route to hospital.

The bus was carrying around 75 passengers, including some who were perched on the roof. It was travelling from Patna to the town of Gaya in Bihar.

Around two dozen of the injured were in a critical condition, Jain said.

The fate of the drivers of the vehicles was not immediately known.

India has the highest annual road death toll in the world, according to the World Health Organisation, with accidents caused by speeding, careless driving, poor roads, overcrowding and bad vehicle maintenance.

BDST: 1933 HRS, June 26, 2010
NJ