The bodies of 15 people, including those of 3 children, who died after the bus in which they were travelling fell into the Mahisagar canal in central Gujarat's Dakor town on Saturday evening, have been fished out.
The bodies included that of the conductor, Kheda District Superintendent of Police S S Trivedi told PTI. According to a survivor, there were at least 18 people on board the state transport bus, he said.
Fire brigade teams and three cranes from Anand, Nadiad and Godhra were rushed to the spot, 70 km from Ahmedabad, to conduct search and rescue operations after the bus, going from Dakor to Rania, fell into the canal.
Even though a major part of the search operation is over and the bus has been retrieved from the canal, Irrigation Department personnel and fire officials are still looking out for three more bodies, Trivedi said.
The survivor told the police that the driver lost control after the bus apparently hit a portion of the canal, Trivedi said.
Meanwhile, the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation has announced an interim compensation of Rs 50,000 to the kin of the victims, all local residents, sources said.