At least 25 people were injured, six of them seriously, after a bus carrying them fell into a rivulet from a bridge in Govindapalli area of Malkangiri district, the police said.
The mishap occurred when the bus carrying around 40 passengers from Jeypore in Koraput district was on its way to Balimela in Malkangiri in the evening of Monday.
As the driver of the vehicle lost balance and the vehicle fell into the rivulet from a bridge, BSF personnel from a nearby camp and policemen rushed to the spot and carried out rescue operation, he said.
Around 25 persons injured in the incident were taken to hospitals in Mathili, Khairput and Govindpalli. Six of them with serious injuries were later shifted to hospitals in Koraput and Malkangiri, he said.
The driver of the private bus was arrested.