15 dead in R'sthan as bus touches high-tension wire

A high-tension electricity wire came into contact with a bus in the Pachewar area of Rajasthan's Tonk district on Friday, electrocuting 15 people, including eight minors, and injuring 26 others.

The bus was carrying 51 passengers from Bachera to Morla village in Tonk to attend a marriage ceremony.

“So far 15 people have died and 26 have been severely burnt. Rescue operations are on in full swing,” said Tonk district collector Rekha Gupta.

Officials said all the 26 injured have been admitted to a local hospital, with five of them being subsequently referred to Jaipur. Several of the injured are said to be in critical condition.

“The groom was travelling in a separate car with other members of the family. The incident occurred before they reached the village where the marriage was scheduled,” said Tonk district SP Deepak Kumar.

A team of 15 doctors and paramedical staff has been sent to Tonk to treat the injured.
Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has announced ex gratia payments of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased, Rs 2 lakh for each person critically injured and Rs 50,000 for the others injured in the incident.

A separate team of five Cabinet minister and officials including the Ajmer Range IG, district collector, superintendent of Sawai Madho Singh Hospital and senior Electricity Department officials has also been sent to Tonk to monitor the situation.

According to reports from local media in Tonk, the high-tension wire had been hanging loose for several days, and villagers had lodged complaint with the Electricity Department regarding this a few days ago. They were of the view that had electricity department repaired the wire, the incident would not have occurred.

The locals rushed to the spot after hearing the shrill cries of the passengers around 2:30 pm, when the incident took place.