Twenty-four persons were killed and more than 40 injured when a bus crashed into a dry riverbed after falling from a bridge in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone on May 9.
The incident took place at 8:40 a.m. when the bus, carrying over 50 passengers, and going towards Indore from Khargone’s Shrikhandi village, hit the protective railing, causing it to break and then fall on the bed of Borad river near Dongargaon village.
The matter was reported to the police, and the injured were taken to the district hospital in Khargone, where many of the survivors are still under treatment.
Madhya Pradesh Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel said in the evening that it was a lapse by the driver as well as the local transport authorities that led to the accident as 67 passengers were travelling in a 35-seater bus. The bus was also speeding. He suspended a local transport official.
It is learnt that the driver and cleaner of the bus are among the deceased even as the investigations into the accident are under way.
Investigators said that the overloading angle was also being looked into. The bus belongs to a private travel company.
The State Government announced immediate financial assistance of ₹4 lakh each to the families of the deceased, ₹50,000 each to the seriously injured and ₹25,000 each to those who received minor injuries in the accident.
Expressing condolence over the accident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office also said that an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh from Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund would be given to the next of kin of each deceased in the bus accident and that the injured would be given ₹50,000.
“The road accident in Khargone is very saddening. My condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in this accident. Also, I wish speedy recovery to all the injured. Under the supervision of the state government, the local administration is providing all possible help on the spot,” Mr. Modi was quoted as saying in a tweet by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
