At least 35 people were killed when a state Road Transport Corporation bus fell into the Almatti canal in Bijapur district of north Karnataka early Monday.
Nine passengers of the bus, bound for Chitapur in Gulbarga district from Hubli, swam to safety, police said.
The mishap occurred when the driver was negotiating a turn.
Two cranes were brought in to pull the bus out of the canal but were not able to, forcing rescuers to break open the windowpanes.
Bijapur district Superintendent of Police, S K Singh and other officials were supervising the operations.
Chief Minister N Dharam Singh and Transport Minister Mallikarjun Kharge expressed shock over the incident.