Jaipur: Eleven people from Gujarat were killed and at least 15 injured when a trailer rammed into their private bus from behind in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district early Wednesday, police said.
The bus was on its way from Gujarat to Mathura in Uttar Pradesh when the accident occurred around 4.30 am they said.
Expressing grief at the loss of lives and offering condolences to the victims’ families, Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of the dead and Rs 50,000 to the injured.
The Prime Minister has approved an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each from PMNRF for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to the mishap in Bharatpur. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000 each.
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 13, 2023
Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, and other leaders also condoled the deaths.
The police said the bus had halted at Antra flyover in the Lakhanpur area when the trailer rammed into it from behind. Five men and six women died on the spot. Some of the passengers standing near the bus were crushed by the trailer.
The bodies were scattered on the side of the highway. The police were informed about the accident by drivers of vehicles passing the spot, they said.
The victims — from Dihor in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar district — were rushed to a local hospital where 11 were declared dead, the police said.
According to the police control room, Antu, Nandram, Lallu, Bharat, Lalji, his wife Madhuben, Ambaben, Kambuben, Ramuben, Anjuben and Madhuben — the wife of one Arvind — died in the accident.
Expressing sadness at the loss of lives, Gehlot said in a post on X, “The death of 11 devotees on a pilgrimage from Gujarat in the collision between a bus and a trailer in Bharatpur is extremely sad. Police-administration is on the spot and the injured have been taken to the hospital for treatment.”
भरतपुर में गुजरात से धार्मिक यात्रा आए श्रद्धालुओं की बस और ट्रेलर की टक्कर में 11 लोगों की मृत्यु अत्यंत दुखद है। पुलिस-प्रशासन मौके पर है एवं घायलों को उपचार के लिए अस्पताल ले जाया गया है।
मैं ईश्वर से सभी दिवंगतजनों की आत्मा की शांति एवं परिजनों को हिम्मत देने की प्रार्थना…
— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) September 13, 2023
“I pray to God to give peace to the souls of all the deceased and courage to their families. May God give speedy recovery to all the injured,” he further said in the post in Hindi.
राजस्थान के भरतपुर में हुआ सड़क हादसा अत्यंत दुखद है। इसमें गुजरात से धार्मिक यात्रा पर गए जिन श्रद्धालुओं को अपनी जान गंवानी पड़ी है, उनके परिवारजनों के प्रति मेरी शोक-संवेदनाएं। इसके साथ ही मैं सभी घायलों के शीघ्र स्वस्थ होने की कामना करता हूं: PM @narendramodi
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 13, 2023