Five killed as bus falls into canal in West Bengal's Hooghly

Five passengers were killed and 20 more injured on Tuesday when a bus fell into a canal from a bridge in Haripal village of Hooghly district, police said.

Two men and three women died when the bus, which was headed to Howrah from Arambagh, with around 30 passengers dashed against the cement railings of the bridge, breaking it, and fell into the Dakatia khal near Gojarmore at around 9 am, Hooghly Superintendent of Police Sukesh Jain told PTI.

"Five people have died in the accident and 19 others, excluding one, are being treated at a hospital in Haripal. We have shifted one critically injured to a hospital in Kolkata," Jain said.

Nobody was arrested in connection with the incident and police were looking for the driver, he said.

The bus conductor was undergoing treatment at the hospital, Jain said.

"A forensic team is on its way to examine the bus. Whether it was a mechanical snag or a fault of the driver is yet be ascertained," the SP said.