A bus carrying 43 Indian tourists and crew members plunged into a rain-swollen river in neighbouring Nepal on Friday, killing more than half of those on board, a Nepali armed police spokesperson said.

A total of 27 people died and 16 were injured in the accident, said spokesperson Shailendra Thapa, adding that all 41 passengers and two crew were Indian and had been headed to the capital Kathmandu from the tourist city of Pokhara.

Roads in the mountainous region can challenge drivers as they are often narrow and treacherous, making it tough to manoeuvre large vehicles around hairpin curves.

Rescuers pulled 22 people from the swollen waters of the Marsyangdi river in the Tanahun district, about 118 km (73 miles) from Kathmandu, of whom 12 were seriously injured and airlifted to the capital.

At least six people died in hospital, said Thapa.

Police and army teams climbed down long metal ladders to reach the river, using ropes to pull out the injured and dead.

Exhausted women and children lay amid debris scattered on the banks of the fast-flowing river as rescuers hauled a nearly fainting child out of danger, video images showed.

India’s neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh, where passengers had boarded the bus, is sending an official to coordinate rescue efforts, news agency ANI said.