New Delhi - At least 14 people were killed and 20 injured when a passenger bus plunged into a deep gorge in India's southern state of Andhra Pradesh, a news report said Friday.

The accident occurred in the Nellore district about 600 kilometres south-east of state capital Hyderabad on Thursday night.

Police told the IANS news agency that the bus, which was carrying 70 people from an extended family, fell into a 100-foot-deep gorge and got struck in trees.

Nellore police chief B Malla Reddy told IANS that the driver was allegedly drunk and lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a narrow curve.

Fourteen people, including four women and four children, lost their lives in the accident. While 20 were injured and admitted to local hospitals, the remaining were rescued by locals and police.

The report said that the rescue work was hampered by darkness on Thursday night and the bodies were recovered on Friday.

More than 95,000 people are killed in road crashes every year in India, among the highest death toll in road accidents in the world. (dpa)