Bijapur: 26 feared drowned in Alamatti reservoir

PTI  
   
 
BIJAPUR, Aug 29: Twenty-six persons drowned while six swam to safety when a van in which they were travelling plunged into the Alamatti reservoir across the Krishna river in north Karnataka on Tuesday.

Thirty-two people, including women and children of Bagsibundu village of Koppal district, were out on a picnic when the mishap occurred, police said.

The group was going to the Alamatti dam after visiting the Koodalasangama pilgrimage centre.

 Top officials of the district rushed to the spot and launched rescue operations. Efforts are on to extricate the bodies and the vehicle, police said.

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has directed officials to rush to the spot.

Agency report adds:

The driver and five passengers were rescued, said Semanth Kumar Singh, police chief of the northern Bijapur district in Karnataka.

"According to the driver there were 33 people in the bus when it lost control and plunged into the river," Singh told News Agency

"We have stopped the flow of water from a nearby reservoir to speed up rescue operations," Singh said.

"About 27 passengers are still missing and feared dead but we are not losing hope," he said.