12 dead, 3 injured after mini bus falls into river in Maharashtra's Kolhapur

At least four persons were killed and as many injured when a mini-bus carrying 17 passengers fell into Panchganga river at Kolhapur in Western Maharashtra, Police said.

All the commuters hailed from Balewadi in Pune. The mishap occurred at around 11.45 pm on Shivaji bridge when the driver lost control over the vehicle while travelling from Ganpatipule to Pune, an official of Kolhapur police said.

Police and fire brigade was alerted by some onlookers following which a search and rescue operation was launched, he said. Out of the seven persons rescued from the river four were declared brought dead at a hospital while three injured are undergoing treatment, the official said.

The search for other 10 is underway by the teams of police, civic authorities and locals, he said, adding senior police officials were on the spot.