Congress President Rahul Gandhi expressed his condolences to the families of around 30 people who were killed after their bus fell into a canal in Karnataka's Mandya district on Saturday.

Officials said as of latest count, at least 30 passengers, most of them women and children, were killed in the accident.

The private bus, which was moving on a road along the VC canal at Kanaganamaradi, 105 km southwest of Bengaluru, swerved and fell into it, completely submerging the vehicle and killing the victims instantaneously, they said.

"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," he tweeted.

Police said 30 bodies have been recovered and two people were rescued.

Preliminary reports suggested that negligence on the part of the driver may have caused the accident, officials said.

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