Buenos Aires, March 17 : At least 16 people were killed and 25 others injured when a passenger bus plunged into a river in Ecuador's coastal province of Guayas.

Ecuadorian daily La-Hora said the accident occurred Saturday on the El Triunfo-Bucay highway.

The bus suddenly crashed into a side-rail of a bridge and then plunged into a river.

Passengers of the bus were mostly manufacturers and traders of jeans clothing from the province of Tungurahua and were en route to a handicrafts fair in the town of Guayaquil.

Authorities launched an investigation into the bus crash.

Witnesses said poor weather conditions and heavy rain could be blamed for the tragic accident. (IANS)