NEW DELHI: At least 40 passengers were killed and several others went missing on Tuesday after a bus carrying them skidded off the road and plunged into a canal in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, officials said.

Seven people survived the accident and among them, some swam safely to the bank and others were rescued. The accident took place near Patna village in Sidhi district, about 493 km east of Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh.