46 killed as bus falls off bridge into canal in MP
Magisterial inquiry ordered, death toll likely to rise as many more passengers drowned
At least 46 people, including 20 women and two children, were killed on Tuesday when the bus in which they were travelling fell off a bridge into a canal in Madhya Pradesh’s Sidhi district. The death toll may go up as several other passengers were feared drowned, officials said.
“As many as 46 bodies have so far been fished out of the water. The state disaster force and NDRF personnel are searching for the passengers, and many are feared drowned”, said Rewa divisional commissioner Rajesh Kumar Jain, who was supervising rescue operations.
Of the 46 slain passengers, 21 have so far been identified, officials said.
According to official sources, the mishap took place when the driver lost control of the bus and plunged it into the canal.
While the bus driver and six passengers swam to the shore, several other passengers are feared to have been washed away. This was said to be the worst bus tragedy witnessed in MP in the past decade.
At least 46 people including 20 women and 2 children were on Tuesday killed when the bus in which they were travelling fell off a bridge in a canal in Madhya Pradesh’s Sidhi district.
The death toll in the incident may go up as several other passengers were feared drowned, officials said.
“As many as 46 bodies have so far been fished out of water. State disaster rapid force (SDRF) and national disaster rapid force (NDRF) personnel are searching for the passengers, feared drowned”, Rewa revenue divisional commissioner (RDC) Rajesh Kumar Jain, who was supervising rescue operations on the spot, told this newspaper.
Of the 46 slain passengers, 21 have so far been identified, officials said.
According to official sources, the mishap took place when the driver lost control of the bus and plunged it into the canal.
The ill-fated bus was travelling from Sidhi to Satna.
It took almost 4 hours for the rescue team to pull the bus out of water with the help of a crane.
While the driver of the bus along with 6 other passengers swam to the shore, several other passengers were feared to have been washed away in the current of water in the canal.
Water from Vansagar dam was diverted to Sihabal dam to bring the water level in the canal down before the rescue operation was launched, sources said.
The cries of passengers who lost their kin rented the air at the site of tragedy.
This was said to be the worst bus tragedy witnessed in MP in the last one decade.
Meanwhile, state revenue and transport minister Govind Singh Rajput ordered a magisterial enquiry into the incident.
Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has expressed shock and grief over the tragedy and announced ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased.
He canceled all his official programmes including the cabinet meeting, scheduled to be held on Tuesday, to monitor rescue and relief operations from here. He also rushed 2 ministers, Tulsi Silawat and Ramkhilwan Patel to the spot.
Madhya Pradesh government has canceled the ‘griha pravesh’ or house warming ceremony to be participated virtually by Union home minister Amit Shah in view of Tuesday’s bus tragedy.
The cancellation of the event in which 1.16 lakh beneficiaries of Prime Minister Awas Yojana were scheduled to be handed over their houses was announced by the chief minister.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi who expressed his condolence to the bereaved families also announced release of `2 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased and `50,000 each for the injured in the incident.
Buses are a common mode of transport between smaller towns and districts in India. But operators often flout safety rules and pack them beyond their capacity.
Some 150,000 people are killed on India’s roads every year — the highest in the world — mainly due to speeding and careless driving. More than 350,000 people are disabled annually in these accidents.
Men and women, aged between 18 and 45 years, make up 70% of the fatalities, according to federal transport minister Nitin Gadkari.
“For the government, each life is precious, whether poor or rich, urban or rural, male or female. The situation is alarming… there are more deaths [in road accidents] than in Covid… It is more dangerous than Covid,” Mr Gadkari said at the weekend.
WHILE THE DRIVER of the bus along with 6 other passengers swam to the shore, several other passengers were feared to have been washed away in the current of water in the canal