At least 25 people were killed and 21 others injured after a bus veered off the road and rolled down a gorge in the Indian hilly state of Uttarakhand late on Tuesday night.
The accident occurred near Simdi village in Uttarakhand's Pauri Garwhal district when a group of some 50 people were returning home from a wedding.
"Some 25 people were found dead in the Pauri Garwhal bus accident. Police and the State Disaster Relief Force rescued 21 people overnight; the injured have been admitted to nearby hospitals," state police chief Ashok Kumar told the local media on Wednesday morning.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to offer his condolences to the families of those killed in the "heart-rending" accident.
"The bus accident in Pauri, Uttarakhand, is heart-rending. In this tragic hour my thoughts are with the bereaved families. I hope those who have been injured recover at the earliest. Rescue operations are underway," the PM's office tweeted.
A probe has been ordered into the accident, the police chief said.
Road accidents are common in India, with one taking place every four minutes. These accidents are often blamed on poor roads, rash driving and scant regard for traffic laws.
The Indian government's implementation of stricter traffic laws in recent years has failed to rein in accidents, which claim over 100,000 lives every year.