A tourist bus has plunged into a ravine on Indonesia’s main island of Java after its brakes apparently malfunctioned, killing at least 26 people and injuring 35 others, police and rescuers say.

The bus was carrying a group of Islamic junior high school students and their parents from the West Java province town of Subang to a pilgrimage site in the province’s Tasikmalaya district when the accident happened late on Wednesday on a winding road.

Local police chief Eko Prasetyo Robbyanto said the bus plunged into the 20-metre deep ravine in Sumedang district after the driver lost control of the vehicle.

Police were still investigating the cause of the accident but survivors told authorities the vehicle’s brakes apparently malfunctioned, Robbyanto said.

Bandung search and rescue agency chief Deden Ridwansah said the 26 bodies and 35 injured people were taken to a hospital and a nearby health clinic. The driver was among those killed.

He said rescuers were still searching for another person trapped inside the overturned bus.

-AAP