28 electrocuted as high voltage wire falls on bus (Second Lead)

BHOPAL - Wedding festivities ended in mournful wailing for the near and dear ones of 28 people who were electrocuted Friday when the bus in which they were going home in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandla town collided with a high voltage electric pole.

Several people were injured in the horrific accident that took place near Gopalpura village in Mandla district, about 350 km from this state capital city.

Giving details, police said a high-tension overhead wire fell on the bus when it collided with the pole and high voltage current electrocuted 25 passengers who got stuck inside. Three of the 15 injured died on the way to hospital.

All the 55 passengers in the bus were returning from a marriage. The driver lost control on the way back from Pindrai to Mandla town.

“Twenty-eight people have died in the accident that occurred when the fully-packed private bus collided with the electric pole,” Balaghat Inspector General of Police C.V. Muniraju told IANS.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs.100,000 for the families of those killed.

District Collector K.K. Khare, who reached the spot with a rescue team, has ordered a magisterial probe while a criminal case has been registered against the bus owner and driver, who is now on the run.

The injured have been admitted to Mandla district hospital.