NEW DELHI ? �Police say at least 39 people were killed when a crowded passenger bus fell into a deep gorge in northern India.

Police officer Raj Kumar says the driver lost control of the vehicle at a sharp bend on a mountain road Saturday in Himachal Pradesh state, nearly 385 miles north of New Delhi.

The bus then plunged more than 300 feet into the gorge.

Kumar says the rescue operation is continuing and that the death toll of 39 is likely to rise.

Police figures show India has the world's highest road death toll, with more than 110,000 people dying each year in accidents commonly caused by overcrowding, speeding, and poor vehicle and road maintenance.