At least 13 people were killed and two injured when a bus carrying 16 passengers fell into the Panchganga River at Kolhapur in Western Maharashtra last night, the police said.

The accident took place at around 11:45 pm on the Shivaji Bridge when the driver lost control of the vehicle while travelling from Ganpatipule to Pune, a police officer in Kolhapur, over 300 km from Mumbai, said.

The police and the fire brigade were alerted by some onlookers following which a search and rescue operation was launched, he said.

Eleven people died on the spot and out of 3 who were seriously injured, one died later.

Body of a child was found later.(Agencies)