Thirty-five others were injured after the accident overnight near the Himalayan shrine of Badrinath in northern Uttaranchal state, police spokesman Vineet Dixit said by telephone from Dehradun, the state capital.

«Five persons, all of them pilgrims, were killed when the bus carrying them rolled down the gorge and plunged into (the) river,» he said. Seven of the injured were in serious condition, he said.

The 40-seater state-run bus was carrying pilgrims on a conducted tour of the religious shrines of Badrinath and nearby Kedarnath. The driver apparently lost control, Dixit said.

Accidents are common in India's hill states due to aging vehicles and bad roads.