Patna, Aug 3 (IANS) At least four Hindu pilgrims were killed and 12 others injured when a high tension wire fell on a bus in Bihar's Banka district Sunday, police said.

A district police official said nearly 50 'kanwariyas' or Hindu pilgrims were travelling in the bus when the incident occurred near Sahebganj Bazar. The injured were admitted to a local hospital.

Angry over the incident, local residents blocked roads and attacked an electricity sub-station to protest.

Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi expressed grief at the incident, while the state government has announced compensation to the victims' families.

In the month of Shravan (July-August), thousands of 'kanwariyas' in Bihar visit an ancient temple in neighbouring Jharkhand's Deoghar, where they offer holy water from the Ganga, collected from Bhagalpur district, to Lord Shiva.