New Delhi - A speeding bus killed 16 people in India's eastern state of Bihar as it ploughed into a group of people watching a movie by the roadside, police and news reports said Thursday.

The accident occurred Wednesday night near a highway in Sitamarhi district, 160 kilometres north of state capital Patna, the IANS news agency reported.

Vijay Kumar, a district administrative official, said 12 people were crushed to death on the scene and four succumbed to injuries at a hospital.

Kumar told IANS that 11 injured villagers were taken to a government-run hospital in the adjoining Muzaffarpur district. Six wounded were being treated at a private clinic in Sitamarhi.

However, police said 14 people had died in accident. "According to the information we have, there were only 14 fatalities in the crash," district police chief Ajitabh Kumar said by phone.

"Doctors say those wounded did not sustain serious injuries so we do not expect the death toll to mount," Sunil Kumar, a local police officer said.

Police said that the bus driver and conductor had fled the scene of the accident and angry villagers later blocked the highway to protest against the incident.

Road accidents are common in India and are usually caused by rash driving, overloading and poor condition of roads and vehicles.

More than 95,000 people are killed in road crashes every year in India, which has one of the world's highest death toll in road accidents. (dpa)