Nine people, including eight women, were killed after an autorickshaw collided head-on with a state transport bus on National Highway-60 in West Bengal’s Birbhum district on Tuesday.
The accident took place at Mallarpur near Rampurhat when the overcrowded autorickshaw rammed into the South Bengal State Transport Corporation (SBSTC) bus, police said.
The eight women were passengers of the autorickshaw, Birbhum SP Nagendra Nath Tripathi told PTI.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the loss of lives in the accident and announced Rs 2 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased.
“Anguished by the loss of lives due to a tragic accident in Birbhum district of West Bengal. Prayers with the injured," Modi was quoted as saying in a tweet by his office.
পশ্চিমবঙ্গের বীরভূম জেলায় এক শোচনীয় পথ দুর্ঘটনায় প্রাণহানির খবরে মর্মাহত। আহতদের জন্য রইল প্রার্থনা। নিহতদের প্রত্যেকের নিকটাত্মীয়কে প্রধানমন্ত্রীর জাতীয় ত্রাণ তহবিল থেকে দেওয়া হবে 2 লক্ষ টাকা। আহতদের প্রত্যেকে পাবেন 50 হাজার টাকা : প্রধানমন্ত্রী @narendramodi— PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 9, 2022
The prime minister said that Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) would be given to the next of kin of each deceased, while the injured would be provided with a relief of Rs 50,000.
(With PTI inputs)
Read the Latest News and Breaking News here