At least 12 people were reported killed and 14 others sustained severe burn injuries as a bus caught fire after a collision with a dumper in Madhya Pradesh’s Guna on Wednesday night, reported PTI. The private bus collided head-on with the dumper on Guna-Aaron road, as per the officials saying that the injured were shifted to the Guna hospital for treatment.
As per the police, the ill-fated bus was on its way to Aaron while the dumper was heading towards Guna when the accident took place at around 9 pm, the PTI report added.
Twelve bus passengers were killed and 14 others sustained injuries in the fire, Guna district’s Superintendent of Police told the news agency.
The bus was carrying 30 passengers at the time of accident and four of them somehow managed to come out of the bus and had gone home, the SP said.
Guna collector Tarun Rathi said the incident was being probed by the administration.
“Prima facie, a dumper and bus collided on the Guna-Aron route resulting in the bus catching fire. Our priority is to recover the bodies and treatment of the injured...Further investigation is underway,” Rathi told reporters.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expressed his grief over the loss of lives and ordered arrangements for proper treatment of the injured passengers. He announced an assistance of Rs 4 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each for the injured and instructed the authorities to probe the accident.
Union Civil Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia termed the incident “painful” and said in a post on X, “Soon after getting information about the incident, I spoke to the collector and SP and directed them to start a relief and rescue operation."