In Assam, at least 29 people died when a bus, carrying a marriage party, plunged into a deep pond while negotiating a speed-breaker in front of a dilapidated wooden bridge at Sorabori near Hajo in Kamrup district late last night. The dead included the bridegroom, the driver besides seven women and three children. The ill-fated bus, with around 43 passengers, was proceeding to Tihu in Nalbari district from Lokhra in Guwahati when the incident took place. The divers of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) with the help of the local people have taken up diving operation to recover the remaining bodies from the pond. AIR correspondent reports, the number of deaths may go up further as search operation is still continuing. The ill-fated bus has since been taken out of the pond. Six persons, who were rescued by the local people, have been admitted to nearby Mukunda Kakoti Nalbari Civil Hospital. In another incident, five persons were charred to death when a speeding oil-carrying tanker caught fire after it skidded off the road and fell into a gorge at Bongaon in Golaghat district early Tuesday morning. 14 persons who came to the accident site to witness the incident were reportedly injured due to a burst in the tanker and oil spill. Meanwhile, the State Chief Minister Mr. Tarun Gogoi has directed the Kamrup and the Golaghat District authorities to conduct high-level inquiries into both the accidents. He has also announced an ex-gratia of one lakh rupees to the next kin of those killed and fifty thousand rupees to the injured.