Karnataka: 26 drown as bus falls into river

Twenty-six persons drowned while six others swam to safety when a van in which they were travelling plunged into the Alamatti reservoir across the Krishna river in north Karnataka on Tuesday.

Thirty-two people, including women and children of Bagsibundu village of Koppal district, were out on a picnic when the mishap occurred, police said. The group had been headed to the Alamatti dam after visiting the Koodalasangama pilgrimage centre.

Top officials of the district rushed to the spot and launched rescue operations. Efforts are on to extricate the bodies and the vehicle, police said. Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy expressed shock over the accident and has directed officials to rush to the spot.