In a tragic incident, 15 people were killed and at least 40 people were injured when a bus, mostly carrying labourers going home for Diwali, rammed into a trailer-truck in Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh on Friday night, news agency PTI reported.
The incident took place in the Suhagi mountain area near Teonthar town at around 11:30 PM. The ill-fated bus was Gorakhpur-bound from Hyderabad, said Rewa Superintendent of Police, Navneet Bhasin.
The bus, a sleeper coach, was at Suhagi ghati when it rammed into the trailer-truck from behind on national highway (NH)-30. The trailer-truck suddenly applied brakes after it hit another vehicle ahead of it, due to which the bus crashed into the truck, Bhasin said.
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Rewa district collector Manoj Pushp said 12 persons were killed on the spot, and two others succumbed while being taken to a hospital from Teonthar to Rewa. One more person died at the hospital in Rewa, he said.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has expressed grief over the accident and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.
In a tweet, the CM said, rescue operations were carried out throughout the night in the presence of the district collector and SP. The injured are undergoing treatment at the Rewa medical college. He added that he is in touch with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath about the incident, adding that the Madhya Pradesh government will bear the cost of the treatment of the injured.
The bodies of the deceased will be sent to Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, the MP CM said.
President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the loss of lives in the bus accident. The PM has announced an ex-gratia of Rs two lakh from PMNRF for the next of kin of each deceased, and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
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The Madhya Pradesh CM has announced an ex-gratia of Rs one lakh to the next of kin of the deceased, news agency ANI reported. While the injured will be treated for free, they will be given an additional amount of Rs 10,000, he added.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath condoled the deaths and announced an ex-gratia of Rs two lakh to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured.
