Bus falls into canal in Madhya Pradesh leaving 37 dead

The bus was heading from Sidhi to Satna when the driver lost control of the vehicle at around 7:30 am and the mishap took place.

In a tragic accident, a bus with 54 passengers onboard fell off a bridge into a canal near Satna village in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday that left thirty seven people dead. The bus was heading from Sidhi to Satna when the driver lost control of the vehicle at around 7:30 am and the mishap took place. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that seven people have been rescued so far."We have found 37 bodies and they have been sent for autopsy," district police superintendent Dharamveer Singh said. Sixteen women, one child and 20 men were killed in the accident. The rescue operation took around five hours after the team of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) reached the spot. Doctors, ambulances and other officials concerned too had reached the site.

The Chief Minister condoled the deaths and announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the family of the deceased. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also paid condolences and called the accident "horrific." "Bus accident in MP's Sidhi is horrific. Condolences to the bereaved families. The local administration is actively involved in rescue and relief work," Prime Minister's office said in a tweet. The PMO announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the relief fund of the Prime Minister for the next of kin of the deceased and also Rs 50,000 for the ones who got serious injuries in the accident.

Eyewitnesses said that the bus had completely drowned into the canal after it fell off the bridge. Later, the district administration stopped the release of water into the canal from the Banganga Project following which the bus was spotted at some distance away from the spot where it had fallen.