Durga idol immersion on the occasion of Vijayadashami turned fatal as eleven youths, who were mostly teenagers, drowned when a tractor trolley overturned in the Pandhana town of Khandwa district in Madhya Pradesh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences for the loss of lives in the accident. Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Dr Mohan Yadav, also expressed grief and announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each for the families of the deceased.
The accident is from Ardala village of the Pandhana area. Residents of Padlafata, which comes under the Rajgarh Gram Panchayat, had reached the water body to immerse Goddess Durga's idol after the conclusion of Navratri on the 10th day.
The tractor-trolley, which was carrying the devotees, overturned into the water as the trolley lost its balance. Nearly 20-25 occupants were seated when it reversed into the waters.
Confirming the deaths, Khandwa DIG Siddharth Bahuguna said that seven girls and four boys lost their lives in the accident. He said, "The deceased included eight minors. Three others were admitted to the hospital. One remains critical, while the other two are out of danger."
According to the officials, a local kotwar had cautioned the driver not to take the tractor-trolley inside the water body, but he ignored the warning.
As the driver was reversing the vehicle, the trolley reportedly hit a stone and overturned, resulting in the fall of all occupants. DIG Bahuguna stated that some of them managed to swim to safety, but eleven of them couldn't be rescued on time.
Police identified the deceased as Aarti (18), daughter of Pyare Singh, Dinesh (13), son of Shantilal, Urmila (16), daughter of Rel Singh, Sharmila (15), daughter of Pyar Singh, Ganesh (20), son of Ter Singh, among others.
The rescue operations were carried out shortly, as the police, administration, and local teams rushed to the site. A JCB machine was used to lift and pull out the overturned trolley from the water. Ten bodies were recovered by 6 pm. The last missing child's body was found after a three-hour-long search.
PM Modi said, "Deeply saddened by the loss of lives in an accident at Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh. My thoughts are with the affected people and their families during this difficult time. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured."
An ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh will also be provided to the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured from the PMNRF (Prime Minister's National Relief Fund).