Twenty-one persons were charred to death and 13 others sustained burns when the private bus they were travelling in fell into a nullah and caught fire in the district on Monday.
The accident took place near Pandav fall, close to the Panna Tiger Reserve, nearly 14 km from the district headquarters.
?We have pulled out 21 charred bodies from the bus which was on its way to Satna district from Chhatarpur district,? Superintendent of Police I.P. Arjaria told PTI over phone from the accident spot.
ADVERTISEMENT
The injured were rushed to a hospital.
Arjaria said the diesel tank of the bus exploded after it skidded off a bridge and fell 15-foot down into a nullah. The resultant fire gutted the vehicle completely.
Rescue operation had almost come to an end, the SP added.
ADVERTISEMENT
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced financial help of Rs. 2 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 25,000 to the seriously injured and the injured, respectively.
He also ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident.