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At least 29 persons were killed when a Kerala State Water Transport Corporation boat capsized in the Vembanad Lake at Kumarakom, about 160km from the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, at about 0645 IST on Saturday.
Police said the toll was likely to rise because the boat was overloaded, mainly with candidates heading for a Kerala Public Service Commission interview at Kottayam.
The boat was heading from Muhama to Kumarakom. It capsized 1km off the renowned Kumarakom backwater resort.
It could not immediately be confirmed whether there were any tourists in the boat. Police sources said the passengers were mainly from Muhamma and surrounding areas.
Kottaym District Superintendent of Police S Gopinath told rediff.com that some bodies had been recovered while a search for others is on. Naval personnel from Kochi have reached the spot to help in the rescue and recovery.
The bodies that have been recovered were taken to the Kottayam Medical College Hospital for post-mortem examination. KMCH sources said 28 bodies had arrived at the hospital till 1000 IST. Injured persons are also pouring into the hospital.
Kerala Revenue Minister K M Mani is supervising the rescue work. Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar, Finance Minister K Shankaranarayanan and other senior officials from the state capital have also left for the accident site, a spokesman at the chief minister's office said.
The Kottayam district administration has opened a control room to provide information about the passengers. The telephone number of the control room is 0481-524121.
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