MAU: At least 40 pilgrims, including women and children, were injured when their bus crashed into a tree in the Ratanpura area here in the early hours of Sunday, police said.

The bus was going to Ballia from Ayodhya.

The accident occurred around 1:30 am on the Ratanpura-Mubarakpur road under the Haldharpur police station area when the driver lost control of the bus and rammed it into a roadside tree, police said.

"The pilgrims were headed back home after attending a religious event in Ayodhya when the accident took place," a police official said.

The impact of the collision left the front portion of the bus badly mangled.

Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Sanjay Gupta said nearly 35 to 40 passengers were injured in the accident.

Locals rushed to the rescue of the victims and moved them to the Jogapur community health centre. The injured were later shifted to the Mau district hospital for treatment, he said.

A probe is underway to ascertain the cause of the accident, police said.