Seventy people were feared killed in a bus accident on Wednesday in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, reported local TV channel Times Now on Thursday.

The TV channel said earlir 50 could have been killed in the accident. At least 18 bodies have been recovered while many remained missing, said the report.

The incident took place when an overcrowded bus with some 80 passengers fell into an overflowing river in Madhya Pradesh's Dewas district late Wednesday.

Road accident rate in India is among the highest in the world with at least 100,000 people killed each year on the road.