At least 30 persons drowned when a bus loaded with passengers fell into a canal on Tuesday morning in Sidhi in Madhya Pradesh. At least seven persons had been rescued so far.

The bus with over 50 passengers was on way from Siddhi to Satna when it went out of control and fell into the canal in Rampur police station jurisdiction around 7.30 am.

State Water Resources Minister Tulsiram Silawat confirmed that 30 bodies had been fished out till now.

After instructions from the Chief Minister, both Silawat and state Minister Ramkhilavan Patel have gone to the spot for supervision of ongoing search and rescue operation.

BJP MLA Shardendu Tiwari told IANS that State Disaster Response Force personnel and government officials were involved in the operation to retrieve the bus from the canal and look for survivors, if any.

Tiwari said that the bus fell into Sharada Canal, which is the main canal emerging from Bansagar Dam and is around 30 feet deep.

"The bus is completely submerged. It is heart-breaking. The water supply from Bansagar Dam has been stopped, due to which the water level has come down. It will help in the search operation. Seven persons have been rescued so far. More equipment, including cranes, have been rushed to the spot for rescue and relief operation."