Eleven persons, including three women and two children, aboard a sports utility vehicle (SUV) were killed when the SUV hit a bus at Jhallar in Madhya Pradesh’s Betul, in the early hours of Friday.
According to Betul Superintendent of Police (SP) Simala Prasad, the accident happened around 2 a.m. An empty bus collided head-on with the SUV on Bhainsdehi road, about 36 km from the district headquarters. The SUV was coming from Amravati district.
Betul police control room assistant sub inspector Shivraj Singh Thakur added that the deceased included six men, three women, a girl aged around five years, and a toddler. All the passengers, barring the driver, were either labourers or their family members returning from Maharashtra’s Amravati. All were residents of Betul and it is learnt that they were among the migrants who worked in the soyabean fields of the neighbouring State.
“The severity of the accident was such that the front portion of the SUV was completely damaged and got stuck to the bus. The bodies of some of the victims had to be extricated from the mangled remains of the SUV with the help of gas cutters,” Mr. Thakur said.
The bodies were later sent for post-mortem.
Primary investigation suggests that the accident took place after the driver of the SUV lost control over the vehicle due to sleep, police said.
The district administration also initiated the process to provide financial assistance to the kin of the victims in the accident, he said.
PM Modi condoles deaths
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed grief over the accident. Mr. Modi announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased and ₹50,000 each for the injured.
“Pained by the loss of lives due to an accident in Betul, MP. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. An ex gratia of Rs. 2lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. ₹50,000 would be given to the injured,” he tweeted.
