At least 15 people drowned on Saturday when a private bus they were travelling in plunged into a canal in Karnataka's Mandya district, the police said.

"At least 15 people have drowned as private bus fell into a canal at 11.30 am at Pandavapura. Prima facie, the accident seems to have occurred due to the driver's negligence," a police officer from the office of Mandya superintendent of police (SP) said.