Bodies of three children were recovered during search operations after seven of them went missing when a pick-up van plunged into a canal near here Thursday, officials said.

The vehicle was carrying 29 people, who were returning home after attending a wedding function in neighbouring Barabanki district. Twenty-two of them were rescued.

The Sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Mohanlalganj tehsil, Suryakant, told PTI, "Search operations were suspended around 8.30 pm and will resume Friday morning."

Seven children went missing and bodies of three were fished out by divers of the NDRF and SDRF, officials said.

The van fell into the Indira canal in Nagram area on the city outskirts around 3 am, Lucknow District Magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma said.

"Three bodies have been found -- Shani (5), Saurabh (8) and Aman (9), while hunt is on to trace the remaining four children. The three children were found within 200 metres of the accident site," he said.

Officials said those still missing are Mansi (4), Manisha (5), Sachin (6) and Sajan (8).

"They might have been washed away in the rapid current of the canal," Sharma said.

A large crowd of onlookers gathered at the accident site, where parents of some of the missing children accused the driver of the pick-up van of being in an inebriated state.

One of the aggrieved parents said, "The driver of the van was under the influence of alcohol and was driving at a high speed. He overshot a bend and the van fell into the canal."

She said some of the passengers had repeatedly asked the driver to slow down but he ignored their plea, leading to the accident.

SDM Mohanlalganj Suryakant said, "The allegation that the driver was under the influence of alcohol is being examined. He has been sent for medical examination to establish whether he had consumed alcohol."

Even the district magistrate said the vehicle was moving at a high speed before falling into the canal. He said the vehicle has been retrieved and a technical examination will establish the actual reason behind the accident.

"Whether the driver was in an inebriated state is not known. In fact, the driver did not run away and rather helped in rescuing the passengers," Sharma said.

The DM also said, "Water level in the canal has been reduced by around two metres since morning. Ambulances have already been deployed at the site. Divers have intensified the search, and all efforts are being made to find out the missing children."

Immediately on getting the news of the tragedy, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed senior police officials and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and SDRF personnel to speed up rescue operations, a statement issued by the UP government said.

The UP Chief Minister also expressed grief over the loss of lives.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)