Srinagar  - At least 40 people were feared dead as the bus they were travelling in fell into a river in India's northern state of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, police and news reports said.

The bus skidded off a mountain road and fell 400 feet (122 metres) into a tributary of the Chenab river in the Kishtwar district, 190 kilometres north of the state's summer capital of Jammu.

"Bodies of 15 people have been recovered by police and army teams which launched rescue operations immediately. The search and rescue operations are continuing," a local policeman said on condition of anonymity.

The IANS news agency reported that more than 40 passengers were on the bus when the accident occurred. While four passengers were rescued, the rest were believed to have been swept downstream.

The injured were moved to a hospital in the district where they were given first-aid.

According to studies, more than 95,000 people are killed in road crashes in India annually, among the highest totals in the world.

Besides Jammu and Kashmir, similar accidents are often reported from India's mountainous states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. (dpa)