MP bus accident: 4 more bodies recovered; toll rises to 51

The death toll in thebus accident in Madhya Pradesh's Sidhi district has gone up to51 with the recovery of four more bodies on Wednesday,officials said.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also left fromBhopal to visit the accident spot in Sidhi.

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.

Four more bodies, including of a woman and six-month-old girl, were recovered on Wednesday, taking the toll to 51,Sidhi Collector Ravindra Kumar Choudhary said.

Three bodies were swept away and found in a part ofthe canal in adjoining Rewa district, while one was foundabout six km from the accident spot, said Ashok Pandey, in-charge of Rampur Naikin police station, under whosejurisdiction the accident spot is located.

The bus driver, who had fled from the accident site,has been detained, Sidhi's Superintendent of Police PankajKumawat said, but did not divulge any further information.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan onWednesday left from the state capital to visit the accidentspot in Sidhi and meet families of the victims.

''It is a very tragic incident. I wanted to reach thespot and meet the bereaved families on Tuesday, but it couldhave affected the rescue operation,'' Chouhan told reporters inBhopal before leaving for Sidhi.

The chief minister said he would meet family membersof the deceased and console them.

The accident took place on Tuesday morning near Patnavillage, around 80 km from the Sidhi district headquarters,when the bus heading from Sidhi to Satna fell into the canal,which is part of the Bansagar dam project.

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.

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.