Madhya Pradesh: 45 killed as bus plunges into canal in Sidhi

At least 45 people including 20 women were killed when a packed bus skidded off the road and plunged into a canal in Madhya Pradeshs Sidhi district on Tuesday morning a senior official saidThe accident took place near Patna village around 80 km from the Sidhi district headquarters when the illfated bus was on its way to Satna from Sidhi he saidA search operation involving State Disaster Response Force SDRF personnel and local authorities was still on at the site the official saidRescuers have retrieved 45 bodies from the canal so far said Rewa Divisional Commissioner Rajesh Jain under whose jurisdiction the accident took placeA total of 45 bodies 24 of men 20 women and a child have been fished out of the Bansagar canal until now he said adding a magisterial probe has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accidentSeven persons managed to swim to safety he saidThe packed bus coming from Sidhi and going to Satna veered off the road and rolled down the canal which is part of the Bansagar project at around 830 am said Inspector General Rewa zone Umesh JogaPrime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief at the horrific bus accident and approved an exgratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the next of kin of those who lost their livesModi said The bus accident in MPs Sidhi is horrific Condolences to the bereaved families The local administration is actively involved in rescue and relief workChief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed grief over the tragedy and announced an exgratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the deceasedI have also sent Water Resources Minister Tulsiram Silawat and MOS for Panchyat Ramkhelawan Patel to the spot Chouhan saidThe Chief Minister said he ordered to stop the water outflow from the Bansagar dam so that water level in the canal could go down and help in the rescue operationMadhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath also expressed grief over the bus tragedyEyewitnesses said the bus sank completely into the canal water and was not visible in the morning hoursLater the district administration stopped the release of water into the canal from the Bansagar project which brought the water level down they saidMeanwhile in view of the accident the CM cancelled a housewarming ceremony to be attended virtually by Union Home Minister Amit ShahShah was scheduled to take part in the programme scheduled to be held at 11 AM in Bhopal for the beneficiaries of over one lakh houses constructed in Madhya Pradesh under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana PMAYThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever