Shimla, Feb 17 (IANS): Thirty-three school children were injured on Friday when their school bus skidded off the mountain road in Mandi district in Himachal Pradesh, the state police said, citing high speed of the bus as the cause of the accident.

The mini-bus was going to school when it skidded off the road in Dehar near Sundernagar town and fell into a ditch, Deputy Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Bhatia told IANS over phone.

He said five students, who were grievously injured, have been referred to a government hospital in Mandi town and others with minor injuries have been admitted to a civil hospital in Sundernagar. The students were from Vivekanand Public School at Dehar.

Injured students told the police that the driver lost control over the vehicle while overtaking another bus.

The accident spot is some 130 km from the state capital Shimla.

The local administration has given an immediate relief of Rs 5,000 to each seriously injured student.