At least 11 persons, including seven children, were on Thursday drowned and 20 others missing when a bus skidded off a bridge and fell into Palguni river near Gurupura, about 15 km from Mangalore in Karnataka.

While six children were rescued, search was on for other passengers, police said adding, incessant rains were hampering the rescue operations.

The mishap occurred when the driver of the bus, carrying around 35 people, lost control over the vehicle which was on its way to the school.

As the news of the mishap spread, relatives of the passengers rushed to the hospital where the bodies had been moved and also thronged the accident site.

The Karnataka Government announced Rs 1 lakh relief to each of the families of those who died in the accident.