Shimla, 7 Oct

 At least 18 passengers were killed while three were rescued as a private bus they were travelling in was struck by a massive landslide in Himachal Pradesh's Bilaspur district on Tuesday evening, officials said.

The accident took place in Bhalughat area in Jhandutta Assembly segment, they said, adding the bus carrying 30-35 passengers was on its way from Marotan to Ghumarwin.

Police and district administration officials are at the spot and rescue operations are going on in full swing, the officials said.

So far 18 bodies have been recovered from the debris, they added.

A whole mountain came crashing down on the bus and chances of survival of passengers are bleak, said a policeman engaged in rescue operations.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has expressed grief over the accident and directed the officials to expedite the rescue operations, an official statement issued here said.

Intermittent rains have been lashing the area since Monday.