At least 21 people, most of them school children, died after a houseboat carrying over 35 passengers capsized in India's southern state of Kerala late Sunday evening, local police confirmed early on Monday.

当地警方周一凌晨证实，周日晚间，一艘载有35名乘客的船屋在印度南部喀拉拉邦邦倾覆，造成至少21人死亡，其中大多数是学生。

The accident occurred off the coastal town of Tanur in Kerala's Malappuram district. Around ten people have been rescued so far, and the rescue operation is still ongoing, a senior police officer told Xinhua over the phone.

事故发生在喀拉拉邦马拉普兰地区沿海城镇塔努尔附近。一位高级警官在电话中告诉新华社记者，到目前为止，大约有10人获救，救援行动仍在进行中。

Most of the deceased were children who had come for a ride amid ongoing school vacations, the Press Trust of India quoted Kerala Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman as saying.

The exact cause of the accident is not known yet.

目前还不清楚事故的确切原因。

Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of India Droupadi Murmu expressed grief at the accident and sent condolences to the bereaved families.

印度总理纳伦德拉·莫迪和总统德鲁帕迪·穆尔穆都对事故表示悲痛，并向遇难者家属表示慰问。

An ex-gratia of 200,000 Indian rupees (around 2,447 US dollars) from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund would be provided to the next of kin of each deceased, tweeted the prime minister.

总理在推特上说，总理的国家救济基金将向每位死者的近亲提供20万印度卢比(约合2,447美元)的特惠金。