Sidhi accident: 47 dead as bus falls into canal in Madhya Pradesh, PM Narendra Modi announces ex-gratia

At least 47 people, including 20 women and two children, were killed when the packed bus they were travelling in skidded off the road and plunged into a canal in Madhya Pradesh's Sidhi district on Tuesday morning, a senior official said.

The accident took place when the ill-fated bus was on its way to Satna from Sidhi. With two more bodies recovered in the evening, the rescuers have retrieved 47 bodies from the canal so far, Sidhi district collector Ravindra Kumar Choudhary told reporters. "A total of 47 bodies - 25 of men, 20 women and two children - have been fished out of the Bansagar canal until now," Choudhary said.

He said a rescue operation at the accident site, involving State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel and local authorities, was stopped in the evening due to darkness and will resume on Wednesday morning. "We have got information that may be four or five passengers are still missing. So, we will continue the rescue operation (on Wednesday) to ensure no missing person remains untraced," the collector said.

Choudhary said all the deceased have been identified. He said at the time of the accident, the water level in the canal was about 25 feet.
Rewa Divisional Commissioner Rajesh Jain, under whose jurisdiction the accident took place, said a magisterial probe has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident.

"Seven persons managed to swim to safety," he said. The accident occurred around 8:30 AM and the bus landed into the canal near Patna village, around 80 km away from the Sidhi district headquarter. 

The packed bus, coming from Sidhi and going to Satna, veered off the road and rolled down into the canal which is part of the Bansagar dam project at around 8:30 AM, said Inspector General (Rewa zone) Umesh Joga.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief at the "horrific" bus accident in Madhya Pradesh's Sidhi district and approved an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the next of kin of those who lost their lives. PM Modi said, "The bus accident in MP's Sidhi is horrific. Condolences to the bereaved families. The local administration is actively involved in rescue and relief work."

Bus accident in MP’s Sidhi is horrific. Condolences to the bereaved families. The local administration is actively involved in rescue and relief work: PM @narendramodi — PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 16, 2021

His office added in a tweet, "PM Narendra Modi has approved an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from Prime Minister's National Relief Fund for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to the bus accident in Sidhi, Madhya Pradesh. Rs 50,000 would be given to those seriously injured."

PM @narendramodi has approved an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each from Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to the bus accident in Sidhi, Madhya Pradesh. Rs. 50,000 would be given to those seriously injured. — PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 16, 2021

Expressing his grief over the bus accident in Madhya Pradesh`s Sidhi, Home Minister Amit Shah said, he has spoken to the state Chief Minister and all possible help for the rescue operation is being provided. "The bus accident in Madhya Pradesh`s Sidhi district is very sad, I have spoken to the Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The local administration is providing all possible help for relief and rescue. I express my deepest condolences to the relatives of the dead and wish the injured to get well soon," Shah tweeted.

मध्य प्रदेश के सीधी जिले में हुआ बस हादसा बहुत दुःखद है, मैंने मुख्यमंत्री @ChouhanShivraj जी से बात की है। स्थानीय प्रशासन राहत व बचाव के लिए हर संभव मदद पहुंचा रहा है। मैं मृतकों के परिजनों के प्रति गहरी संवेदनाएं व्यक्त करता हूँ व घायलों के शीघ्र स्वस्थ होने की कामना करता हूँ। — Amit Shah (@AmitShah) February 16, 2021

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said he ordered to stop the water outflow from the Bansagar dam so that the water level in the canal can go down, which will aid in rescue operations. He tweeted that teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and local authorities were conducting rescue operations at the spot.

सीधी में आज नहर में बस गिरने से बहुत दुखद दुर्घटना हुई है। सात लोग तो सुरक्षित निकल गए थे।

सुबह से ही राहत और बचाव के कार्य प्रारंभ कर दिये गये थे। कलेक्टर, एसपी, कमिश्नर, आईजी सहित एसडीआरएफ की टीम आवश्यक संसाधनों के साथ वहां तत्काल पहुंच गई थी। pic.twitter.com/MTTCOkyWix — Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) February 16, 2021

Without specifying the number of the deceased, the chief minister said many "precious lives" were lost in the accident. Expressing grief, the CM said he was praying for the safety of the missing persons. Chouhan also said that efforts to save the missing passengers are underway.

सीधी की दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण घटना को लेकर मैं लगातार प्रशासन से और राहतकार्य में लगे हुए लोगों से चर्चा कर रहा हूँ।

बहुत दुःखद है कि दुर्घटना में 18 लोगों की जान चली गई है। मन बहुत व्यथित है। बचावकार्य लगातार जारी है; कलेक्टर, कमिश्नर, आईजी, एसपी, एसडीआरएफ की टीम लगी हुई है। pic.twitter.com/TYPKV786Hf — Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) February 16, 2021

"I am continuously monitoring the situation. I am in touch with senior officials engaged in the rescue work," he told reporters in Bhopal.
The chief minister also announced the ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to kin of each victim killed in the accident. "I have also sent Water Resources Minister Tulsiram Silawat and MOS for Panchyat Ramkhelawan Patel to the spot in a state plane," Chouhan said.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed grief over the tragedy and announced a separate ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased. "I have also sent Water Resources Minister Tulsiram Silawat and MOS for Panchyat Ramkhelawan Patel to the spot,' Chouhan said in Bhopal. The Chief Minister said he ordered to stop the water outflow from the Bansagar dam so that water level in the canal could go down and help in the rescue operation.

A team of two ministers will go to the bus incident site after Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan called a meeting to discuss the incident. Former Cabinet Minister Tulsi Silawat said, "It is an unfortunate incident. Chief Minister has been taking a minute-to-minute detail of the accident since morning. Two of us are going to Sidhi as per his (Chief Minister) instructions. I spoke to officers concerned, as per their information around 30 bodies have been recovered," Silawat added.

Eyewitnesses had said that the bus sank completely into the water and was not visible in the morning hours. Later, the district administration stopped the release of water into the canal from the Banganga project, which brought the water level down. The bus was then spotted at some distance away from the spot where it fell into the water, eyewitnesses said. The bus was retrieved out of the canal with the help of two cranes, officials said.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant also expressed grief over the loss of lives after a bus fell into a canal in Madhya Pradesh. "Deeply pained to hear about the tragic bus accident resulting in loss of lives in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of victims in this hour of distress," Sawant said in a tweet.