Death toll in Murshidabad bus tragedy rises to 43

Rescue workers on Wednesday fished out one more body from the government bus that fell into the Gogra canal at Balirghat area of Murshidabad district of West Bengal on January 29 morning, taking the death toll in the tragedy to 43.

Eight rescued with injuries are undergoing treatment at the Murshidabad Medical College.

Search is on for more bodies as relatives of about five missing persons had sought help, apprehending that they may have boarded the bus and the exact number of passengers is yet to be known, a senior district official told PTI.

By January 29 evening, 32 bodies (20 men, 10 women and two children) were recovered and by night, altogether 36 bodies were recovered. The next day, six more bodies were fished out.

So far, 40 bodies have been identified

“Search operations will continue till we are convinced that no bodies are stuck in the riverbed. But it is quite difficult to search for bodies as it is quite dark and cold underneath the water,” the official said.

The State government has come out with a compensation package of ₹5 lakh to the next of kin of each of those killed and ₹1 lakh for those gravely injured. Other injured would get a compensation of ₹50,000.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had ordered an inspection of the bridge from which the bus fell into the canal.

The government has decided to ban drivers of State-run buses from using mobiles while driving. The decision follows a reported statement by a couple of passengers of the bus that the driver was talking over his mobile phone while driving and losing control of the vehicle.