NEW DELHI: Police say a bus full of Hindu pilgrims plunged into the Ganges River, killing 26 people in northern India.

Rescuers worked more than four hours to pull the bodies from the river late Tuesday in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.

Local Tehri district police official Janmejaya Khanduri says four people are hospitalized in critical condition.

The private tour bus had been travelling west from Badrinath to the holy city of Rishikesh with 45 passengers from central Madhya Pradesh state. Police say the driver lost control while trying to overtake a truck on the road.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna announced an investigation Wednesday and said victims' families would receive 100,000 rupees in compensation.