Jaishree Balasubramanian

Kuala Lumpur, Oct 27 (PTI) A camping trip for a group of ethnic Indian schoolchildren turned into a tragedy, when one child died and two others went missing while a newly-built bridge they were crossing collapsed and plunged into the swift flowing Kampar River in northern Perak state.

The three children were part of group of between 30-50 youngsters who were walking on the suspension bridge when it suddenly collapsed last night.

19 students were rescued from the fast-flowing river after the accident in the picturesque Perak state where they were part of a 298 strong group of schoolchildren on a camping trip.

"From reports of the teachers on the scene we believe there were 22 children on the bridge when it collapsed," local police chief Azeez Salleh said.

He said most of the children were rescued by the people.