Gondia (Maharashtra), Nov 29 (IANS) The death toll from the bus accident in Gondia climbed to 12, including seven women, besides another 15 injured, some gravely, on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condoled the tragedy.

The accident occurred around 12.30 p.m. on Friday when the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC)'s Shivshahi bus was speeding along the Gondia-Kohmara Road near Khajri village.

The bus, bound from Nagpur to Gondia and onwards to Bhandara with around 35 passengers on board, was speeding and trying to overtake a truck along a curve on the road in the Murdarli forest region, when a motorcycle suddenly appeared before it.

Attempting to avoid ramming into the motorbike, the State Transport bus driver swerved sharply at the high speed, lost control over the steering and the vehicle flipped over to one side, skidding for several metres before coming to a screeching halt some distance away.

Eyewitnesses said that on hearing the loud sounds of the accident, local villagers rushed to the spot and informed the local police, and launched a massive rescue operation.

As the bus door was jammed they smashed open the glass windows to help the trapped passengers and managed to retrieve around 12 bodies from the wrecked bus.

Another 15 passengers were brought out as they screamed in pain with different degrees of injuries and rushed to nearby hospitals in Gorgoan and Sadak Arjuni, the Gondia civil hospital, as the police, MSRTC officials, Highway Traffic Police, other rescue teams and district officers rushed there.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed 'distress' over the tragedy and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured.

Caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has directed the district authorities to extend all medical help to the injured and inform the families of the victims, and announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the survivors of the deceased.

Caretaker Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, Congress state President Nana Patole, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) Executive President Supriya Sule, Shiv Sena (UBT) Spokesperson Kishore Tiwari and other leaders expressed grief over the tragedy and urged the authorities to expedite relief and medical help.

As per some local reports, the bus driver reportedly fled after the crash but MSRTC officials declined to comment on it.

Of the 12 victims who perished in the mishap, some have been identified as: Rajesh Lanjewar and his wife Mangala Lanjewar; Ramchandra Kanojia and Anjira Kanojia; Azhar Ali Syed and Arifa A. Syed; Kalpana Wankhede, Smita Suryawanshi, and Nayana Mitkar, and the details regarding others are awaited.

Courtesy Media Group: IANS