Many passengers were stuck in the damaged bus and the rescue team had to cut parts of the vehicle to save people, said the police. The injured were admitted to the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Rewa.

The bus was carrying 60 passengers and apparently the driver was drowsy when he lost control over the vehicle.

Divisional Commissioner Ashok Kumar Bhargava and Rewa Inspector General of Police Chanchal Shekhar also reached the hospital. The Divisional Commissioner said the driver's licence has been cancelled and action has been initiated against the transporter.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Kamal Nath in a tweet said: "I have received the sad news about the crash of a passenger bus going directly to Rewa. I offer condolences to the families of the passengers, who died in this horrific accident. The authorities have been instructed to provide proper treatment to all the passengers injured in this accident".

The transport department, however, blamed the poor condition of roads for the incident.

"The poor road conditions in the region and rash driving have claimed 8,295 lives so far during the calendar year," an official said.