A total of 27 people have been confirmed dead and 16 remained missing after a bus plunged into a river in central Benin early Sunday, authorities said.

There were 52 people on the bus when tragedy struck, Abdel Aziz Bio Djibril, director of the Beninese civil protection agency, said Monday evening.

The bus was lifted to the surface on Monday afternoon, and 23 bodies were found inside, he said.

Subsequent patrols along the river helped find another three bodies, bringing to the provisional death toll to 27, including one body recovered earlier on Sunday, Djibril said.

Nine survivors are currently hospitalized, while 16 remain missing, he said, adding that efforts to look for the missing will continue for at least an additional 48 hours.

The bus, traveling from Togo's capital Lome to Niger's capital Niamey, plunged into the Oueme River after the vehicle hit a bridge guardrail and the driver lost control, according to Minister of the Interior and Public Security Alassane Seidou. (Xinhua News Agency, but headline rejigged)