8 killed, 20 injured after bus falls into river in MP’s Raisen

BHOPAL:At least eight people were killed and 20 injured after a bus they were travelling in toppled over a bridge and fell into a river in Madhya Pradesh’s Raisen district late on Wednesday, police said on Thursday.

The dead, including two women and a child, were identified as residents of Chhatarpur and Raisen. The injured have been admitted to Hamidia Hospital in state capital Bhopal. Eyewitnesses said the driver of the bus, carrying 45 people from Chhatarpur from Bhopal, lost control over the vehicle due to a pothole. Police and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been carrying out rescue operation for the past 20 hours as one body is still trapped in the bus. The police team failed to pull out the bus from the river due to unavailability of a crane.

Raisen, superintendent of police, Monica Shukla said, “Except one, all the passengers were taken out from the bus. A family from Sagar is still waiting for the body of Umesh Saini, who was travelling with his son Ashish Saini in the bus.

The body might be trapped in the bus. We are trying to pull out the bus.” Raisen’s collector Umashankar Bhargava said he has ordered an inquiry into the accident.

POLICE AND STATE DISASTER RESPONSE FORCE (SDRF) HAVE BEEN CARRYING OUT RESCUE OPERATION FOR THE PAST 20 HOURS AS ONE BODY IS STILL TRAPPED IN THE BUS.