MSRTC bus slips into Narmada river in MP on Monday, at least 13 dead, many injured (Express Photo) At least 13 people were killed when a bus carrying over 30 passengers fell into Narmada river near Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh Monday morning, an official said.
The bus, belonging to Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), was en-route from Madhya Pradesh’s Indore to neighbouring to Amalner in Jalgaon district of neighbouring Maharashtra, when it slipped into the river at around 9:30 am, the MSRTC managing director Shekhar Channe told The Indian Express.
The accident occurred on the National Highway No.3 (Agra-Mumbai road), situated close to Dhar and Khargone borders, as per a report from newsagency PTI. The bus crashed into a railing of the bridge before falling into the river, the report said.
The spot where bus crashed the railing of bridge before falling into river (Express photo) As many as 13 bodies have been fished out and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has rushed to the spot.
Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said 15 people were rescued.
Debris of the bus brought at shore of Narmada (Express Photo) The driver of the bus has been identified as Chandrakant Eknath Patil while Prakash Shravan Chaudhary was the conductor. Both are yet to be traced, the official said.
Interestingly, the fitness certificate of the 10-year-old was about to expire in 10 days.
The bus was registered with the Nagpur rural Regional Transport Office on June 12, 2012 and its certificate, which implies that the vehicle is roadworthy, was about to expire on July 27, 2022, a senior RTO official said as quoted by the PTI .
The MSRTC has set up a helpline for citizens and they can dial 022-23023940 to get information about the accident.
Meanwhile, in a tweet, Prime Minister’s Office announced Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia from Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) to next of the kin of deceased and Rs 50,000 to injured.
An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of those who lost their lives due to the bus tragedy in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000: PM @narendramodi
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 18, 2022
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chauhan said he telephoned his counterpart in Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde, and briefed him about the accident and the rescue operation.
इंदौर से पुणे जा रही बस के धार में हुई दुखद दुर्घटना के संबंध में महाराष्ट्र के मुख्यमंत्री श्री @mieknathshinde जी से फोन पर चर्चा कर उन्हें वस्तुस्थिति से अवगत कराया। महाराष्ट्र के यात्रियों के शवों को ससम्मान वहां भेजने की व्यवस्था करने के संबंध में भी जानकारी दी।
— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) July 18, 2022
(With inputs from PTI)
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