Seven dead as bus sinks in flooded canal

By Harmeet Shah Singh
CNN

NEW DELHI, India (CNN) - A bus carrying about 40 passengers sank in an overflowing canal in eastern India, killing seven of them, officials said Tuesday.

Among the dead were a 7-year-old girl and her mother, said Paresh Chandra Nayak, the district magistrate of Nayagarh, in Orissa state.

The bus driver ignored warnings from his passengers about flooding in the canal ahead and kept driving Monday night, Nayak told CNN.

Water swamped the bus as it crossed a bridge on the canal, he said.

Authorities and locals rescued most of the passengers, Nayak added.

Nayagarh has been pounded with seasonal rains over the past couple of days.