At least eight school children drowned when a boat capsized on Wednesday in a river in southern India, police said.
The boat sank in the Chaliyar river, 520 kilometres north of Thiruvanathapuram, Kerala's state capital.
"Eight children have died and rescue operations are underway," Kerala senior state police officer M Padmabhan told AFP, adding that several more children were missing and believed drowned.The police officer could not say how many children were aboard the boat but the Press Trust of India reported that the vessel was carrying 35 people.
Most of the survivors swam to safety and others were rescued by people who had been standing on the river banks, the news agency said.Many of the youngsters aboard the boat were teenagers, the news agency said.
Police said the children were returning home from school and were operating the boat themselves.It was the second fatal boat accident in Kerala in just over a month.
Forty-five tourists drowned in the Thekkady Lake when a boat capsized on September 30.
