Police in the southern Indian state of Karnataka confirmed that they retrieved 28 bodies from a private passenger bus that careered into a canal on Saturday.

Many of those killed in the crash were schoolchildren returning to their homes, a police officer told the AFP news agency.

Police could not provide the exact number of passengers on board, but local media said about 35 people were in the vehicle when it veered off the road.

Authorities believe the driver was speeding.

"The accident occurred in Mandya district as the driver lost control of the vehicle while going at a high speed," said G. Parameshwaran, Karnataka's deputy chief minister.

Parameshwaran said a rescue operation was underway.

The victims were reportedly trapped inside the bus, unable to get out of its barred doors, local media said.

Read more: At least a dozen children killed in India school bus crash

Every 4 minutes, 1 road death

Deadly road crashes are common in India, with traffic accidents claiming at least 135,000 lives each year.

In one of the deadliest road accidents ever recorded in India, 61 people, including 10 children, were killed earlier in September when an overcrowded bus fell into a gorge in the southern state of Telangana.

According to government statistics, there is one road accident every minute in the country, and a road death every four minutes. Poor roads, badly maintained vehicles, speeding and drunken driving are the leading causes of road fatalities.

Read more:  How can India fix its deadly highways? 

Although Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government drafted the Road Transport and Safety Bill in 2014 to replace the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988, which currently governs road safety in the country, the legislation is still stuck in parliament.

"If the bill is made into law, it will propose harsher penalties for traffic offenses, require that automakers add more safety features and hold consultants, contractors and civic agencies accountable for the wrong design, or poor construction and maintenance of roads. That is badly needed," Vikram Kumar, an engineer from the Central Road Research Institute, told DW.

The rapid rise in accidents is also caused by road infrastructure that has not been able to keep up with the phenomenal increase in the volume of vehicles. India is expected to be the world's third-largest car market after China and the US by 2020, according to researcher IHS Automotive.

shs/rc  (AFP, AP)

 

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