Children among 28 dead in crash blamed on speeding
KARNATAKA CHIEF MINISTER ANNOUNCES RS500,000 PAYOUT FOR FAMILIES OF THE DECEASED
At least 28 people, many of them children, drowned yesterday after their bus plunged into a canal in India, police said, in the latest tragedy on the country’s notorious roads.
Police said they retrieved 28 bodies from the private passenger bus after it veered off the road and fell into the canal in the Mandya district of the southern state of Karnataka.
A police officer at the scene said many of the victims were schoolchildren returning to their homes.
“Many children are among the 28 dead,” a police official told journalists by phone.
Police could not provide the exact number of passengers on board or the cause of the crash but said the driver was apparently speeding.
Local media said around 35 people were in the vehicle.
Video footage on television showed locals using ropes to reach the submerged bus and pull out the bodies. Emergency workers and divers joined the volunteers to help.
Search for victims
Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy announced an ex gratia payment of Rs500,000 (Dh26,043) to the families of the 25 people who lost their lives when the bus plunged into a river canal in Mandya district.
The tragedy took place around noon close to Kanaganamaradi village, near Pandavapura town in the district.
The accident spot is about 120km from Bengaluru on the state highway towards Mysuru after Mandya town.
Kumaraswamy and former chief minister Siddaramaiah visited the accident site and expressed their condolences to the families of the victims. Rescue operations were still underway to search for the remaining victims.
“This was an extremely tragic incident. I pray for peace to the souls of the deceased and strength to their families to bear the loss,” Kumaraswamy said. Road crashes in India claim the lives of more than 150,000 people each year.
Most accidents are blamed on poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.
Some 50 people were killed in neighbouring Telangana state in September after a bus plunged into a valley in September.
On Thursday six school pupils were killed after their van collided with a bus in central Madhya Pradesh state.