At least eleven people, including two children, died in a road accident after a sports utility vehicle (SUV) carrying them rammed into an empty bus in Madhya Pradesh’s Betul district at 2 am on Friday after the driver fell asleep, said the local police.
The incident took place on the Bhainsdehi road, which is 36 kms away from the district headquarters, Betul police control room assistant sub inspector Shivraj Singh Thakur told news agency PTI.
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“Six men, three women, a girl aged around five years, and a toddler died on the spot in the accident that took place around 2 a.m.,” Thakur said, adding that a case has been filed and the police have started investigating the incident.
As per the police records, the passengers in the car were migrant labourers, who were travelling from Maharashtra’s Amravati to Betul.
The local authorities had a tough time recovering the bodies from the car, which was completely mangled almost beyond recognition, said the police. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem. According to a preliminary probe, the vehicle collided with the bus after the driver slept off.
According to reports, the local police and the district magistrate rushed to the spot following the accident.
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Announcing Rs 2 lakh in compensation for the kin of victims, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office tweeted, “Pained by the loss of lives due to an accident in Betul, MP. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. Rs. 50,000 would be given to the injured.”