24 killed, 43 hurt as bus falls off bridge in Madhya Pradesh

State Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel, who met the injured at the district hospital, told the media that the bus was carrying nearly 70 people although it has capacity to accommodate 37. He said the Assistant Regional Transport Officer has been suspended.

24 killed, 43 hurt as bus falls off bridge in MP

Local residents at the site after a bus fell from a bridge in MP’s Khargone district on Tuesday. (PTI)

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Twentry-four people were reported dead and 43 others injured when a bus, allegedly speeding and packed beyond capacity, fell into a dry river bed after breaking through railings of a bridge in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone district on Tuesday morning.

State Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel, who met the injured at the district hospital, told the media that the bus was carrying nearly 70 people although it has capacity to accommodate 37. He said the Assistant Regional Transport Officer has been suspended.

Shabham, one of the injured victims, said, “I was standing behind the driver — he turned back at us for a second, and the bus fell down. My mother and I were rescued when someone broke the cabin glass and pulled us out. I don’t remember how I reached the hospital.”

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Another injured victim, Savitri, who was recuperating at the hospital with her daughter, accused the driver of steering in a rash manner. Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the deaths and announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each.

Khargone SP Dharamveer Singh said, “The injured have claimed that the driver was speeding. He has not been able to give a consistent version of the events. We have booked the driver, conductor and the bus operator for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.”

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