An overcrowded bus carrying Hindu pilgrims from India crashed in southern Nepal on Sunday killing at least 36 people.

Local police say the bus skidded off a slippery highway and plunged into a flooded irrigation canal, leaving dozens of others unaccounted for.

Fifty of the 140 passengers have been rescued, but some of them remain in critical condition.

The bus was carrying pilgrims from Maharajgung district of Uttar Pradesh on their way to attend the Bolbam festival at Triveni, about 200 km south-west of Kathmandu. In a statement, the Indian Embassy in Nepal said it had sent special teams, including a doctor, to assist the Nepali authorities in relief and rescue operations.

An information centre has been set up at the embassy, and officials can be contacted at 00-977-1-4412125 and 4411699 (extension 4109).

The police have arrested and are questioning the bus driver whom passengers say was intoxicated behind the wheel.