Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy visited the site of a bus accident in Mandya on Saturday and took stock of the rescue efforts.

A bus fell into a canal in Kanaganamaradi village near Pandavapura town in Mandya district killing 25 people. Mandya is around 100 kilometres from Bengaluru.

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The CM announced a compensation for Rs 5 lakh for the families of the deceased.

According to reports, the bus skidded off a bridge and fell into the Cauvery river canal. There were around 35 people in the bus at the time of the accident. Police fear that the death toll could go up.

The drive of the bus managed to swim to safety while many other passengers could not escape because the bus fell with its door submerged in the water of the 20-feet deep canal. Some passengers were saved by farmers working in nearby fields.

“Divers retrieved the bodies of 25 passengers from the bus before it was fished out of the canal. A rescue operation is underway to search for the remaining victims,” an official told IANS.

The bus was coming from Pandavapura and was on its way to Mandya.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi were among those who expressed grief over the tragedy.

“Deeply pained the bus accident in Karnataka’s Mandya. My thoughts are with the families of the deceased. May God give them strength in this hour of sadness,” he wrote on Twitter.

Deeply pained the bus accident in Karnataka’s Mandya. My thoughts are with the families of the deceased. May God give them strength in this hour of sadness: PM @narendramodi

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 24, 2018

“I’m sorry to hear about the terrible bus accident in Mandya district of Karnataka in which over 20 people are feared dead & many others injured. I extend my deepest condolences to the families of the deceased & pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” said Gandhi.

I’m sorry to hear about the terrible bus accident in Mandya district of Karnataka in which over 20 people are feared dead & many others injured.

I extend my deepest condolences to the families of the deceased & pray for the speedy recovery of the injured.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 24, 2018

Senior state government ministers, district leaders and senior authorities rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation.

Vehicular traffic on the state highway was disrupted and rescue work affected, as hundreds of people from the surrounding areas thronged the mishap spot to see the bus plunged into the canal.