Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik condoled the death of passengers in a tragic bus mishap in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh.

He took to microblogging site Twitter to express his deep grief over loss of lives in the accident.

"Deeply anguished by the tragic loss of precious lives in the bus accident in #Kullu district of #HimachalPradesh. Wish the bereaved families have courage to overcome the irreparable loss and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured," Patnaik wrote on his Twitter handle.

The toll in the accident has touched 44. The injured persons are undergoing treatment at the Banjar Civil Hospital and Kullu district hospital.

Dozens died and 34 others were injured after an overloaded bus fell into a deep drain in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district on Thursday.

According to prima facie report, the accident was caused due to negligent driving and overloading.

The private bus (bearing registration number HP 66-7065) en-route Gada Gushaini fell into the over 300-metre-deep nullah (drain) near the Dhoth Morh in Banjar tehsil of the district.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident and asked the administration to provide best possible medicare to the injured passengers.