At least seven bus passengers died in India when their vehicle drove into a flooded canal, officials said.

Those killed in the incident Monday night in the eastern coastal state of Orissa included a mother and her 7-year-old daughter, CNN reported.

A district official in the town of Nayagarh said the driver of the bus carrying about 40 passengers ignored warnings from his passengers about rising waters in the canal from heavy rains in the area.

As he kept driving, water flooded the bus as it crossed a canal bridge, the official said.

The other passengers were rescued by local people and authorities, the official said.