At least 13 people were killed and several injured after a Maharashtra-bound bus broke through the barrier of the Khalghat Bridge and fell from a height of around 100 ft into the Narmada River in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh on Monday morning.

Dhamnod police station in-charge Rajkumar Yadav said, “We are not clear about the number of passengers in the bus, which is completely submerged in the depths of Narmada river. There is a little chance of survival.”

The bus was moving from Indore to Pune, when it broke the barrier and fell into the river, he said adding heavy machinery was deployed to drag the vehicle out of the water.

A team of state disaster response force (SDRF) is at the spot and coordinating with local fishermen in carrying out the rescue operation.

Senior officials from Indore and Dhar have rushed to the spot to take stock of the rescue work.