About 30 persons were killed and more than a dozen seriously wounded when a bus plunged into a riverbed at Kashimira in Thane district of Maharashtra on Tuesday morning, police said.

The Thane Municipal Transport bus was on its way to Thane from Bhayander when the driver reportedly lost control after the vehicle climbed the Chena creek bridge, police said.

The bus then crashed through the parapet wall of the bridge before plunging into the dry riverbed. 

District police said the figure of the injured was yet to be ascertained since the injured persons have been admitted to various hospitals, including the civil hospital in Thane, Chhatrapati Shivaji hospital at Kalva, Bhagwati hospital in Borivali and some other private hospitals.

Eyewitnesses told police that the bus was being rashly driven. The driver was also among those seriously wounded.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil, Thane Guardian Minister Ganesh Naik, IGP (Konkan) Satyapal Singh, and Thane district Superintendent of police Archana Tyagi visited the spot.

Patil announced an aid of Rs one lakh each to the families of the deceased and Rs 15,000 each to the injured. Thane Mayor Rajan Vichare has also announced an assistance of Rs one lakh each to the families of deceased and Rs 25,000 each to the injured.