Kolkata, Jan. 29 (TNS): At least 36 persons were killed after the bus they were travelling in smashed through the railing of a bridge and plunged into a canal in eastern India, officials say here on Monday.
Indian officials said that the accident occurred at Daulatabad in Berhampore district of West Bengal.
Rescuers fished out 36 bodies even as four cranes pulled the bus out of the canal, which flows into the Jalangi River, a tributary of the Hooghly River.
District magistrate P Ulaganathan confirmed 36 were killed in the accident.
The toll is likely to rise as the North Bengal State Transport Corporation bus, headed from Domkal to Murshidabad, had more than 52 people in it, according to those who survived.
Rescue efforts continued late in the evening with the help of floodlights.
There was confusion over the reason of the accident. While some claimed the driver was trying to overtake another bus, others alleged the driver was speaking on his mobile phone.
