A pall of gloom descended on Machilipatnam on Wednesday with the arrival of eight bodies of pilgrims who were killed in the bus accident in Maharashtra.
The bodies were brought to Machilipatnam in special ambulances arranged by the A.P. government. Excise and BC Welfare Minister Kollu Ravindra accompanied by Machilipatnam MP Konakalla Narayana received the bodies here in the presence of police and revenue officials.
The police handed over the dead bodies to the families. The family members thanked the State government for initiating measures to bring back the bodies and for making arrangements to ensure that the injured were brought back home in a special flight on Tuesday night.
Expressing condolences, Mr. Ravindra announced that the State government would release compensation of Rs. 2 lakh to each of the bereaved families and Rs. 50,000 to those injured for medical treatment. People from various walks of life gathered at Chilakalapudi junction in the town for the last rites of accident victims.
“The health condition of the four pilgrims who survived the accident is stable at Yashoda Hospitals, Solapur,” Krishna district SP G. Vijaya Kumar told The Hindu . The police also confirmed that the bus had two drivers.
