A bus on Monday hit the railing of a bridge in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district and plunged into a canal, killing 32 passengers, PTI reported. There were 50 passengers on the bus.

Seven injured people were rescued and are being treated at Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital. The National Disaster Response Force is leading the search and rescue operations, ANI reported.

The bus was travelling from Shikarpur in Nadia district to Malda when it fell into the canal in Daulatabad at 6 am. The canal is connected to the Jalangi river, a tributary of the Hooghly.

Some passengers rescued by the locals claimed that the bus driver was talking on the phone when he lost control of the vehicle, NDTV reported.

A group of locals, irked by the alleged delay in the arrival of the police, torched a police vehicle, PTI reported. Some fire engines were also damaged. The police had to use teargas to quell the protests, according to NDTV.