The driver of the bus that plunged into a ravine in Telangana killing 57 people was conferred the best driver award by the government only last month, officials said on Wednesday even as the death toll from the accident rose to 58 with a woman succumbing to injuries.

The overcrowded state-run bus had swerved off the road and hurtled down a hillside into a gorge on Tuesday, killing 57 people and injuring 28 others in one of the worst highway tragedies in recent memory.