Maihar (MP), Sep 29 (PTI) The death toll in the accident of a private bus in Madhya Pradesh’s Maihar district has gone up to nine as three more persons succumbed to their injuries, police said on Sunday.
The deceased hailed from Jaunpur and Pratapgarh in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, they said.
Nearly 20 persons were also injured after the bus rammed into a stationary stone-laden truck in Maihar around 11 pm on Saturday, they said.
Cases have been registered against the truck driver, who is absconding, and the injured bus driver, police said.
The accident occurred on National Highway 30, about 25 km from the district headquarters.
The bus started from Prayagraj with around 45 passengers and was heading for Nagpur via Rewa when it crashed near the Nadan Dehat police station, Maihar Superintendent of Police (SP) Sudhir Agrawal told PTI.
While six persons died on the spot, three more succumbed to their injuries at a hospital in Satna, taking the death toll to nine, he said.
The deceased, all male, included a four-year-old boy, the official said.
The deceased have been identified, and six of them hailed from Jaunpur and three from Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh, Agrawal said.
The post-mortem of six victims was done in Maihar and three in Satna, where they breathed their last, he added.
The SP said the injured persons, most of them from Jaunpur and Pratapgarh, were admitted to different hospitals, including in Rewa.
Inspector K N Banjare of Nadan Dehat police station said bodies of seven victims were handed over to family members, and they were waiting for the arrival of families of the other two deceased.
The official said it appeared that the bus was speeding.
“We have registered cases against the absconding truck driver who parked the vehicle without turning on the indicators and the injured bus driver (for careless driving),” Banjare told PTI.
Rescue teams used a gas cutter and an excavator machine to extricate passengers from the wreckage, the SP Agrawal said.
According to the police, the rescue operation was wrapped up at around 2 am on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expressed sorrow over the tragedy.
“Nine deaths have been confirmed, while one passenger’s condition was critical. I pray to the almighty to heal the injured,” he wrote in a post on X.
He said the district administration was instructed to provide treatment to the injured and extend financial help to family members of the deceased according to government rules.
इस भीषण सड़क हादसे में 9 यात्रियों की मृत्यु की पुष्टि हुई है जबकि एक अत्यंत गंभीर हालत में है। अधिकतर यात्री उत्तर प्रदेश और महाराष्ट्र के हैं। परमपिता परमेश्वर से प्रार्थना करता हूं कि सभी घायलों को शीघ्र स्वास्थ्य लाभ मिले। https://t.co/forqNdXVma
— Dr Mohan Yadav (@DrMohanYadav51) September 29, 2024
Condoling the incident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the loss of lives in the Maihar tragedy was painful.
“My sympathies are with the grief-stricken family members of the deceased,” he wrote on X.
मध्य प्रदेश के मैहर में सड़क दुर्घटना में हुई जनहानि अत्यंत दुःखद है।
मेरी संवेदनाएं मृतकों के शोक संतप्त परिजनों के साथ हैं।
मध्य प्रदेश प्रशासन से संपर्क स्थापित कर पीड़ितों को हर संभव सहायता उपलब्ध कराने के निर्देश अधिकारियों को दिए हैं।
प्रभु श्री राम से प्रार्थना है कि…
— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) September 29, 2024
Adityanath said he contacted the MP government for all possible help to the victims.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
