Thirty-one killed in two Indian accidents

Officials said 15 people, including seven women, wereburied alive by landslides triggered by heavy overnight rain inArunachal Pradesh state early on Sunday.

"So far 15 bodies have been recovered and we are gettingmore reports of fresh landslides from far flung areas," BidolTayeng, a senior government official, said from Itanagar,capital of the mountainous state bordering China.

Several vehicles were also washed away by huge mudslides inand around Itanagar, officials said. Roads have been blocked byfalling debris, hampering movement of rescue workers, theyadded.

In the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, at least 16people were killed when the bus they were travelling in plungedinto a gorge on Sunday, R.M. Sharma, a senior police officer,told reporters.

"We have shifted six injured people to a hospital and arelooking for more survivors," he said.

Landslides and accidents during monsoon season are commonin India's mountain states.

(Reporting by Biswajyoti Das; Editing by Bappa Majumdar andJerry Norton)