Many missing after India bridge collapses on key Goa highway

At least 22 people are missing after a highway bridge connecting the city of Mumbai with the beach resort of Goa in western India collapsed.

Officials say two buses carrying passengers plunged into a flooded river after the collapse early on Wednesday.

Police officer Sanjay Patil told the Associated Press that rescuers had not spotted any vehicles or survivors.

Heavy rains are hindering rescue operations. Traffic has been diverted to a new bridge in the area.

OP Singh, chief of the state-run National Disaster Response Force, said 80 rescuers, including divers, had been rushed to the area.

He said early reports indicated that at least two buses, travelling on the old bridge, fell into the Savitri river which was flooded by heavy monsoon rains.

In March, a flyover under construction in the Indian city of Kolkata (Calcutta) collapsed, killing at least 20 people and injuring nearly 100.

And in 2011, some 32 people died and 132 were injured after a bridge collapsed at a political event in Darjeeling in West Bengal.