MUMBAI (AFP) - A bus crash left 32 people dead and another 13 injured after the vehicle careered off a bridge into a dry river bed in India's western state of Maharashtra on Tuesday, police said.

"The bus was travelling from Goa to Mumbai when the driver suddenly lost control," an officer in the police control room told AFP.

The pre-dawn accident happened in Khed district, around 350km south of the state capital Mumbai.

Most of the injured, including the driver, sustained head and arm injuries and were undergoing treatment at a local hospital, said the officer.

Media reports said there were some foreign tourists on the bus, but there was no immediate confirmation from the police.

About 110,000 people were killed in Indian road accidents in 2011 - more than 300 every day - according to the last available statistics from the National Crime Records Bureau.

Bad roads, speeding vehicles and poor driving were among the contributing factors.