Chandigarh:
Two passengers were killed and several others feared drowned after a Punjab roadways bus fell into a canal near Sirhind in Fatehgarh Sahib district of Punjab in the wee hours today, police said.
The ill-fated bus was on its way from Delhi to Amritsar when the mishap took place around 2 am.
The bus was swept in the gushing canal water about three kms downstream before getting stuck at Saundh headworks from where Bhakra Main Line Canal and Narwana Canal get separated, officials said.
Before plunging into the canal, the bus broke the railing along the national highway close to the floating restaurant near Sirhind.
Two bodies have been fished out from the canal waters, Fatehgarh Sahib SSP Gurmeet Singh Chauhan said.
Sumer Singh, Director, Punjab State Transport, said 25 passengers had boarded the bus when it left Delhi.
The bus had been pulled out of the canal with the help of cranes, police said.
Meanwhile, authorities have sounded an alert along the Bhakra Main Line canal, Narwana canal and Sirhind feeder so that the bodies of other passengers could be fished out after being located.
Police and civil administration, along with divers, including from Army, are involved in search operations.