Bhopal, Oct 17 (PTI) Eight persons from Madhya Pradesh’s Betul district were killed and 15 were injured after a tempo traveller veered off the road and fell into a 15-foot-deep drain on Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Rajasthan on Saturday morning, police said.
The accident occurred around 6 am near pole number 384 on the Expressway, under Simliya police station limits, in Kota district of the neighbouring state, officials said.
Betul Superintendent of Police Virendra Jain told PTI that the victims were from Ghatbiroli village under Multai police station, around 65 km from the Betul district headquarters.
Emergency personnel immediately launched rescue operations, despite the silt and water accumulated inside the drain severely hampering their efforts. Cranes were deployed to retrieve the damaged vehicle and rescue the passengers trapped inside.
Multai police station house officer Vikas Patel said he had visited the bereaved families and informed them about the tragedy, and they will soon leave to collect the bodies.
The victims were related to each other and had left Bhopal around 7 pm on Friday to visit the Khatu Shyam Temple in Sikar district of Rajasthan, police said.
According to Kota Superintendent of Police Sujit Shankar, the group had come to Rajasthan for a four-day tour and was heading to the temple when the accident occurred.
The injured, eight of whom are critical, were rushed to the New Medical College Hospital (NMCH) and the MBS Hospital, officials said.
An injured passenger, Anshika, said she was travelling with her extended family, consisting of her uncles, aunts and other relatives. She said they departed from Bhopal at 7 pm on Friday and were headed for a darshan at Khatu Shyamji temple, when the accident happened.
There were around 23 passengers inside the vehicle, and most of them were asleep when the accident happened, Anshika said, adding that the driver must have dozed off.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav directed officials to provide Rs 4 lakh each to the kin of the deceased along with all possible assistance required during this difficult time.
In a post on X, he described the accident involving the minibus travelling from Bhopal to Khatu Shyamji as extremely tragic and distressing.
Yadav prayed to Baba Mahakal to grant peace to the departed souls and strength to their families to bear the loss.
He wished the injured a speedy recovery. PTI COR RUK LAL ARU BNM
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