Bus plunges into Narmada, death toll rises to 44

Ahmedabad: The toll in the Narmada canal tragedy has gone up to forty-four according to the latest reports pouring in from Vadodara in Gujarat. Most of the victims of the unfortunate incident were children aged between 8 to 10. Earlier, a Gujarat state transport bus carrying about 50 school children fell into the Narmada main irrigation canal in Vadodara district today.

The bodies of 44 victims, including the conductor, have been recovered, officials said. According to Vadodara fire brigade officials, "The accident took place at around 6 am, 70 kilometres from Vadodara. The bus was on its way from Vag-Bhod village to Bodeli."

Most of the children were between eight to ten years of age and going to appear for an examination. Five of them were rescued and admitted to Vadodara civil hospital. Sources said that the bodies could be recovered immediately after the occurrence of the incident as local inhabitants came to the rescue.

The local villagers helped in recovering first nine bodies of the victims. The other bodies were removed with the help of fire brigade personnel, who arrived later. Many bodies had flown downstream away from the accident site. (With inputs from IANS)

Add to: del.icio.us Digg Technorati