MP bus accident: 2 more bodies recovered; toll rises to 49

The death toll in the busaccident in Madhya Pradesh's Sidhi district has gone up to 49with the recovery of two more bodies on Wednesday morning,police said.

On Tuesday, bodies of 47 people, including 20 womenand two children, were recovered after the packed private busskidded off the road and plunged into a water-filled canal inSidhi.

The rescue operations, which were halted late Tuesdaynight, resumed on Wednesday morning and two more bodies wereretrieved from the canal, which is part of the Bansagar damproject, Sidhi's Additional Superintendent of Police AnjulataPatle said.

She said out of the two bodies, one was recovered froma part of the canal falling under Govindgarh police stationlimits in the adjoining Rewa district, about 10 km from theaccident site.

''So far, 49 bodies have been found. The searchoperation is continuing in the canal in Sidhi and Rewa (over astretch of 25 km) as around five more people are suspected tobe missing,'' she said.

Nearly 600 personnel, including from the NationalDisaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force(SDRF) and local authorities, from five districts are engagedin the rescue operation since Tuesday morning, officials said.

The accident took place on Tuesday morning near Patnavillage, around 80 km from the Sidhi district headquarters,when the bus was on its way to Satna from Sidhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday expressedgrief at the 'horrific' bus accident and approved an ex-gratiaof Rs 2 lakh each for the next of kin of those who lost theirlives.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhanannounced a separate ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin ofthe deceased.

Chouhan on Tuesday said he ordered to stop the wateroutflow from the Bansagar dam so that water level in the canalcould go down and help in the rescue operation.