MUMBAI: A bus plunged into a 120-meter (400-feet) deep gorge on Thursday in western India, splitting open on the rocky ground below, killing at least 30 people, police said.

The driver lost control of the bus after it collided with a truck on a road near Malshej Ghat, a hilly tourist spot about 160 kilometres northeast of Mumbai, police officer Raghunath Yadav said.

The death toll rose as rescuers found more bodies in the bus wreckage. Another police officer, Hemant Patel, said two or three people were unaccounted for by late afternoon.

Yadav said seven people were hospitalised for injuries, some of them in serious condition. The truck driver was also hurt but managed to keep the vehicle on the road.

Patel said the badly injured passengers were found scattered in the gorge as the bus was split open when it hit the rocky ground.

Their families rushed to the site in shock and later collected the bodies of their dear ones for cremation, he said. The bus was on an intercity route and carried all Indian passengers.—AP