SAWAI MADHOPUR:
At least 32 people were killed while many others injured after a bus carrying passengers fell off a bridge into a river in Sawai Madhopur’s Dubi on Saturday morning.
According to a preliminary investigation, high speed can be the reason behind the accident. As soon as the incident was reported, all the top officials reached the spot. The rescue operation is underway. The injured have been admitted to a nearby hospital.
It is learnt that the private bus they were travelling in lost balance on a bridge and fell into the river. The accident occurred around 7:30am when the driver of the 34-seater bus from Madhya Pradesh was trying to overtake another vehicle.
The passengers were coming from Lalsot in Dausa to visit Ramdevra. By 10 am, 32 bodies were fished out from the bus after cutting the windows by a gas cutter and sent to mortuary of the district hospital. Of the deceased, 10 each were from Sawai Madhopur and Madhya Pradesh and five from Uttar Pradesh. Ten 10 bodies were handed over to their families after post mortem.
Ambulances have been called in to rush the injured and bodies to hospitals, said district collector Kailash Chand Verma who along with superintendent of police Maman Singh reached the spot to oversee rescue operation.
All private hospitals have also been alerted to admit the injured. The bus was brought out from the river by a crane. Locals had also gathered at the site and helped in rescue operation.
Chief minister Vasundhara Raje expressed grief over the accident and said she talked to the officials and ordered them to carry out speedy rescue operations.
Pilgrims from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan come here to visit Ramdevra temple on Saturdays and Tuesdays. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the state government was closely monitoring the situation.
