Karnataka bus accident: 30 killed after bus fall into canal in Mandya, 4 rescued

Bengaluru : At least 30 people, including five children, were killed and four rescued after a bus fell into a canal in south Karnataka, today afternoon. Reports, 35 people were travelling in the private bus. The unusual accident took place in Mandya, 105 km from Bengaluru.

The bus gorge into the canal after the driver lost control, the police said. Many passengers could not escape from the bus as it fell to its side, trapping the doors on the floor of the canal. The bus soon submerged.

The driver, however, managed to escape from the bus and swam to safety.

Sources confirmed that farmers from nearby fields started rescue work immediately and saved a few passengers.

"I believe the driver was not driving properly... I will find out," Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Dr G Parameshwara said.

The video of the accident showed that locals using ropes to try and pull the bus out of the water body. 

Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy visited the site and instructed the minister in charge of Mandya and the Deputy Commissioner to reach the site as soon as possible and oversee the rescue operations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the deaths. "Deeply pained the bus accident in Karnataka's Mandya. My thoughts are with the families of the deceased. May God give them strength in this hour of sadness," he tweeted. Congress president Rahul Gandhi also shared his condolences on Twitter.

"All the appointments of the Chief Minister have been cancelled for the day. An award ceremony that was to be held later in the evening has been cancelled till further notice," the Chief Minister's Office tweeted.