Atleast 28 persons, including 24 women and four children, drowned when the tempo in which they were travelling skidded off the road and plunged into a lake near Mandakalli airport in Mysore on Tuesday.

The mishap occurred when a 34-member group from Paduvarahalli village on the outskirts of the city was returning home after attending a marriage in a nearby village at Nanjangud.

The driver lost control of the tempo while trying to avoid a pothole and the vehicle rolled into the lake, the police said.

Authorities engaged boats and swimmers and fished out 28 bodies. Search is on for another person suspected to have drowned, they said, adding, five persons were rescued and admitted to hospital.

Expressing grief over the deaths caused by the mishap, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa announced a compensation of Rs one lakh to each of the dead and Rs 50,000 to each of the injured.

Minister for Medical Education A Ramadas, who is also in-charge of Mysore district, visited the spot and supervised relief operations.

Police had a tough time in controlling the crowd which thronged the lake and heart-rending scenes were witnessed as relatives of the victims grieved for their dear ones.

Authorities have been making arrangements to identify those dead and hand over the bodies to the next of kin, official sources said on Tuesday.