Ten tourists were killed and 32 injured when the driver of the luxury bus in which they were travelling lost control after hitting a divider on a four-lane road near Panangudi in Tirunelveli district in the wee hours today.

Three of the deceased are from Kerala, two from Gujarat and two from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, police said, adding the other three are yet to be identified. Those killed included two children and four men.

The condition of four of those injured was stated to be serious, they said. Police said the bus driver lost control of the vehicle while driving at high speed, leading to the accident. Cranes were used to lift the vehicle to rescue people trapped beneath it, they said.

The bus was on its way to Thiruvananthapuram from Karaikal via Kanyakumari when the accident occurred.

The injured have been admitted to the government hospital at Nagercoil, police said. Meanwhile, Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said in that the state capital that he had instructed Thiruvananthapuram range IG Manoj Abraham to coordinate rescue operations.

Revenue officials who had gone to the mishap site had been asked to bring the injured Keralites back to the state for further treatment, if necessary, he added.