NEW DELHI (AFP) - At least 16 passengers were electrocuted Friday and 27 others injured after their bus hit a high-voltage power line in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, police said.

The private bus was carrying more than 50 members of a wedding party when it came in contact with a loose overhead wire running across the road in Pachewar area of Tonk district, 100 kilometres from the state capital Jaipur.

"Sixteen people have been confirmed dead. Many are critical," Tonk police chief Deepak Kumar told AFP.

The dead included at least five children and three women, the officer said.

Mr Kumar said the uninsulated wire got entangled in the overhead luggage rack, exposing the passengers to thousands of volts of electric current.

The injured were being treated for burns at a government-run hospital in the district.