At least 15 reported dead, 40 hurt as bus meets with accident in India

In a tragic incident, at least 15 people were reported to have died when a bus met with an accident in Madhya Pradesh's Rewa district, about 530 km from state capital of Bhopal. The bus - which had scores of people aboard - was headed from Telangana's Hyderabad to Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur; dozens were injured.

In a series of tweets, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed grief over the accident and said details were also shared with Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath. "The rescue operation is in full swing," he underlined. In another post, he stressed, "In this hour of grief, we are standing with those who have lost their family members."

Yogi Adityanath announced a compensation of ₹2 lakh for family of those who died, and ₹50 thousand for those injured. "My sympathies are with the families affected," he wrote in a tweet in Hindi.

All people on the bus "are believed to be residents of UP," Navneet Bhasin, superintendent of police, Rewa, was earlier quoted as saying by news agency ANI. "Of the 40 injured, 20 have been admitted to a hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj. The bus was going from Hyderabad to Gorakhpur," he said. Condoling the deaths, Madhya Pradesh's Home Minister Dr Narottam Mishra said the tragedy was "painful".

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, in a tweet, wrote: "Saddened to learn about a road accident in Rewa, MP in which many lives have been lost. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. May they remain strong in this difficult time. Prayers for speedy recovery of those injured. (sic)".

"It seems that the trolley truck had an accident with the truck in front of it and when the driver applied brakes, the bus behind it rammed into it. Rescue operations were done. Injured have been sent to hospital," Manoj Pushp, Rewa's collector, told ANI.