Fifteen persons were killed and more than 35 others injured, some of them seriously, after an Uttar Pradesh-bound bus collided with a stationary truck in the Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh, an official said on Saturday.
The accident occurred around 11.30 pm on Friday near Teonthar town, he said.
”The bus was on its way to Gorakhpur (in UP) from Hyderabad when it collided with a stationary trailer truck on national highway (NH) 30 near Sohagi Ghati area,” Rewa collector Manoj Pushp said.
While 12 persons were killed on the spot, two others succumbed while being taken to a hospital from Teonthar to Rewa. Later, one more person succumbed to injuries at the hospital in Rewa, he said. ”Fifteen persons were killed in the accident, which left more than 35 others injured,” Rewa district’s superintendent of police (SP) said. After being alerted about the incident, police personnel from Sohagi rushed to the site and launched a rescue operation.
The majority of the bus passengers were labourers and they were on their way home for the Diwali festival, eyewitnesses said.
While most of the injured persons were rushed to a hospital in Teonthar, those who suffered serious injuries were shifted to Rewa, the SP added.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan spoke to his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath and briefed him about the accident, an official said.
Chouhan informed the UP-chief minister that the seriously injured persons are undergoing treatment in a government medical college in Rewa. The Madhya Pradesh government will bear the cost of treatment of the injured persons, Chouhan told him.
Those who suffered minor injuries were given preliminary treatment and later sent to Prayagraj in another bus. The bodies of the victims are also being sent to Prayagraj, he added.
