18 killed as bus plunges into river

The bus was on a regular Shegaon-Paturda service carrying around 45 passengers, including several school students, an official of Buldhana police control said.

Around 11 am, when it was negotiating the Khiroda bridge on the fast-flowing Purna river, it suddenly plunged into the river.

The district authorities immediately dispatched a crane and rescue workers for relief operations and at least 20 passengers trapped inside the bus were pulled out, the official said.

Buldhana district, located in north Maharashtra, is around 500 kms from Mumbai.u00a0