Kottayam, March 23: Seven passengers, including two women and a child, drowned when private bus with about 40 persons on board plunged into a deep river here today.
A local man collapsed and died on the spot while being engaged in the rescue work.
While 20 persons swam to safety and are undergoing treatment in hospitals, the rescuers, including Naval divers from Kochi, were still searching in the Mennachal river at Thazhathangadi to ascertain if more bodies are trapped in the slush, police said.
The bus, portion of which got stuck in the muddy river-bed, was lifted out after five hours of hard toil using six cranes, but no body was found trapped inside the vehicle, as feared initially.
The bus was coming from Cherthala in Alappuzha District to Kottayam along the rural route when it fell into the river after hitting an electric post.
–Agencies