11 dead, 22 injured as truck & bus collide in Rajasthan’s Barmer, PM announces ex-gratia

Fire engines were rushed to the spot as both vehicles caught fire owing following the collision Wednesday near the Bhandiyawas village on the Barmer- Jodhpur National Highway.

Smoke rises from a fire after a truck collided head-on with a passenger bus near Bhandiyawas village on the Barmer-Jodhpur National Highway, in Barmer district, 10 November, 2021 |PTI|

Jaipur: A truck collided head-on with a bus in Rajasthan’s Barmer district on Wednesday, leaving 11 people dead and 22 others injured, police said.

The accident occurred near Bhandiyawas village on the Barmer-Jodhpur National Highway and both vehicles caught fire following the collision.

“Ten bodies have been recovered from the spot and one died at a hospital. Twenty-two others are injured. Eight critically injured persons have been referred to Jodhpur for treatment,” Barmer Superintendent of Police, Deepak Bhargav, said.

Fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the fire which engulfed the two vehicles.

“The bus was full of passengers,” Shahrukh, one of the passengers on the bus, told reporters in Jodhpur.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot spoke to the Barmer district collector and asked him to ensure proper treatment for the injured.

Best possible treatment will be ensured for those injured in the accident, Gehlot said in a tweet.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday expressed grief at the loss of lives in a road accident in Rajasthan.

Modi also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from the prime minister’s national relief fund for the next of kin of those who lost their lives and Rs 50,000 for the injured.

He said, “It is saddening that people have lost their lives due to a bus-tanker collision at the Barmer-Jodhpur Highway in Rajasthan. In this hour of grief, my condolences to the bereaved families. I pray that the injured have a quick recovery.”