One person was killed and 24 school students were injured when an overcrowded bus returning from a picnic in Madhya Pradesh met with an accident Tuesday morning in Gujarat's Panchmahal district, said police. The private luxury bus, hired by an Ahmedabad-based school for picnic, fell into a roadside pit after the driver lost control over the vehicle at Parvadi village near Godhra, around 130km from here, said Police Sub-Inspector M V Jotana.

According to an FIR lodged at the Godhra taluka police station, the bus was hired by the Vivekanand Hindi Higher Secondary School, situated in the Narol area of Ahmedabad. The mishap took place when the bus, packed with 107 passengers, including schoolchildren and teachers, was returning to Ahmedabad from Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, where they had gone for a picnic. While the cleaner of the bus, Balram Bhadoria, died in the accident, its driver fled the spot, said Panchmahal District Superintendent of Police Leena Patil.