NEW DELHI: At least eight people were killed and more than 10 others injured after a passenger bus fell off a bridge into a pond in the southern Indian state of Karnataka Saturday, police said. The accident occurred near Karekere on national highway 75 in the state’s Hassan district, some 250 km from Karnataka capital Bengaluru. “The state-owned bus carrying 50 people, including a driver and a conductor, plunged into the pond after breaking the railing of the bridge this morning when its driver lost control of the speeding vehicle,” a senior police official said. While eight people, including two women, died on the spot, those injured have been admitted to a nearby hospital, he said. “The driver also died in the accident,” the official added. The bus was on its way to Dharmastala from Bengaluru when the incident took place. Preliminary probe revealed that the accident happened due to the negligence of the bus driver, the official said. “Anyway, we will wait for the final probe report after considering the eye-witness accounts of local residents,” he added. India has the highest number of road fatalities in the world. Road accidents occur mostly due to poor driving or badly maintained roads and vehicles. In another incident, at least six people have been killed and five others injured in a major road accident in the western Indian state of Maharashtra Saturday, police said. “The accident occurred when a car in which the victims were travelling collided head-on with a sugarcane-laden tractor in the state’s Sangli district this morning,” a police official said. While six people died on the spot, those injured have been admitted to a local hospital where the condition of three are said to be serious, he said. “The victims were mostly local wrestlers returning home from a wrestling match in nearby Satara district,” the official said. A probe has been ordered into the incident, he said, adding that a manhunt has been launched to track down the tractor driver who fled the spot leaving the vehicle behind after the accident. India has the highest number of road fatalities in the world. Road accidents occur mostly due to poor driving or badly maintained roads and vehicles. Published in Daily Times, January 15th 2018.