At least 21 people are feared dead and four others are missing after a bus plunged into a canal in Kanaganamaradi village in Karnataka’s Mandya district. The incident reportedly took place at around 12 noon on Saturday when the bus was travelling from Pandavapura to Mandya city. The bus suddenly swerved off the road in Kanaganamaradi and toppled into the Vishweshwaraiah Canal of the Cauvery river.
Preliminary reports suggest that at least five school children were travelling on the bus. When the mishap took place, a 7th standard student named Rohit managed to jump out of the window and swim out of the canal to safety. Lohit, who is in a state of shock, has been taken to a hospital.
Officials told TNM that around 25 bodies have been found and it is feared that the death toll may rise. Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the families of the deceased.
While the cause of the accident is not known, the police and district administration have reached the spot and are conducting rescue and search operations.
CM Kumaraswamy, who was in Mandya, has expressed his condolences to the families of those who were killed in the accident. “He is at the spot and has instructed the officials to carry out rescue operations,” a tweet posted on Kumaraswamy’s official Twitter handle stated.
The Chief Minister has cancelled all his programmes scheduled for the day, the CM’s office said in another tweet.
ಕನಗನಮರಡಿಗೆ ಸಿಎಂ|ಚಲನಚಿತ್ರ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ ಪ್ರದಾನ ಸಮಾರಂಭ ಮುಂದಕ್ಕೆ
— CM of Karnataka (@CMofKarnataka) November 24, 2018
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ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿಗಳು ತಮ್ಮ ಇಂದಿನ ಎಲ್ಲ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳನ್ನೂ ರದ್ದುಪಡಿಸಿ ಪಾಂಡವಪುರ- ಕನಗನಮರಡಿ ಗ್ರಾಮದ ಬಸ್ ಅಪಘಾತ ನಡೆದ ಸ್ಥಳಕ್ಕೆ ಧಾವಿಸಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ.ಇಂದು ಸಂಜೆ ನಡೆಯಬೇಕಿದ್ದ ರಾಜ್ಯ ಚಲನಚಿತ್ರ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ ಪ್ರದಾನ ಸಮಾರಂಭ ಮುಂದೂಡುವಂತೆ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿಗಳು ಸೂಚಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ pic.twitter.com/eahedQWKUl
Speaking to the media, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said, "I just came to know that in Mandya district that a bus has fallen into a canal and 25 people have died, that is the latest report. I will get more reports on that as to why it has happened, I believe the driver was not driving properly or something. I will find out and get some more inputs and come back."
Meanwhile, at the spot, rescue operations are underway and the injured passengers have been rushed to the hospital for treatment.