Twelve people from Gujarat were killed and at least 12 injured when a trailer rammed into their private bus from behind in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district early on Wednesday, police said. They said that the bus was on its way from Gujarat to Mathura in Uttar Pradesh when the accident occurred around 4:30 a.m.
Expressing grief at the loss of lives and offering condolences to the victims’ families, Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of the dead and Rs 50,000 to the injured. Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and other leaders also condoled the deaths.
The police said the bus had halted at Antra flyover in the Lakhanpur area when the trailer rammed into it from behind. Five men and six women died on the spot. Some of the passengers standing near the bus were crushed by the trailer. The bodies were scattered on the side of the highway. The police were informed about the accident by drivers of vehicles passing the spot, they said.
SP Mridal Kachawa said, “A horrendous road accident has occurred on NH 21, resulting in the deaths of 12 people and injuries to 12 passengers. Some of the injured patients have been referred to Jaipur.”
The victims, from Dihor in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar district, were rushed to a local hospital where 11 were declared dead, the police said. Later the death toll rose to 12.
According to the police control room, Antu, Nandram, Lallu, Bharat, Lalji, his wife Madhuben, Ambaben, Kambuben, Ramuben, Anjuben, and Madhuben, the wife of one Arvind, died in the accident.
In a post on X expressing sadness at the loss of lives, Gehlot said, “The death of 11 devotees on a pilgrimage from Gujarat in the collision between a bus and a trailer in Bharatpur is extremely sad. Police-administration is on the spot and the injured have been taken to the hospital for treatment.”
“I pray to God to give peace to the souls of all the deceased and courage to their families. May God give speedy recovery to all the injured,” he further said in the post in Hindi.
President Droupadi Murmu, who is in Gujarat on an official visit, also said that she was deeply saddened over the loss of lives in a bus accident in Rajasthan, and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar also took to his official social media handle and expressed his sadness over the loss of lives of the victims.
