Lagatar24 Desk
Bhopal, Feb 25: At least 60 people were injured in the collision between a cement-laden truck and three buses that were parked by the side of the road on the Madhya Pradesh-Satna border, which resulted in 14 fatalities, according to officials on Saturday.
People in the buses were supposed to be coming back from the “Kol Mahakumbh” in Satna city when the accident happened at 9 p.m. on Friday outside a tunnel close to Barkhada village, they claimed.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had addressed the event in Satna earlier on Friday on the occasion of Shabri Mata Jayanti.
“Fourteen persons were killed and 60 others were injured. Of the injured persons, the condition of three is very serious,” Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Dr Rajesh Rajora told PTI.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief minister, told reporters after visiting the injured people at the Rewa Medical College Hospital late on Friday night that the cement-filled truck struck three parked buses when it drove off the road due to a tyre blowout.
A bus toppled on one side as a result of the incident, while another bus flipped on the other, injuring the passengers, the witness claimed.
Chouhan described the situation as “extremely regrettable” and stated that sufferers may need to be evacuated outside of Rewa for better care. The chief minister pledged a financial help of Rs 10 lakh to the families of those who died in the tragedy, and also added that government jobs will also be offered to the family member of the dead people.
Serious injury victims will receive 2 lakh rupees in compensation, while other injured victims would receive one lakh rupees. The relatives of the deceased would also receive benefits from a number of assistance programmes, he said.
According to eyewitnesses, the vehicle struck the buses from behind, causing one of the buses to flip over and land in a ditch.
The tragedy took place near Mohania tunnel about 9 pm when the buses had halted for distribution of food packages to the passengers returning after attending the Mahakumbh, they added.
