At least 15 people were killed in a tragic bus accident in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa district, about 530 kilometres from the state capital of Bhopal.

The bus was carrying a large number of passengers from Telangana’s Hyderabad to Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur, fourty were injured.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed grief over the accident in a series of tweets, adding that details had been shared with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

“The rescue operation is in full swing,” he stated emphatically. “In this hour of grief, we stand with those who have lost family members,” he said in another post.

Yogi Adityanath announced a compensation package of 2 lakh rupees for the families of the deceased and 50 thousand rupees for those injured. “My deepest sympathies to the affected families,” he tweeted in Hindi.

PM Modi has also expressed his grief on the issue and has announced Ex-gratia of 2 lakh to next of kin of deceased and 50 thousand to those injured.

All passengers on the bus “are believed to be UP residents,” said Navneet Bhasin, superintendent of police in Rewa. “Of the 40 injured, 20 have been admitted to a hospital in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.”

“The bus was travelling from Hyderabad to Gorakhpur,” he explained. Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Dr Narottam Mishra expressed condolences for the deaths, calling the tragedy “painful.”

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, in a tweet, wrote: “Saddened to learn about a road accident in Rewa, MP in which many lives have been lost. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. May they remain strong in this difficult time. Prayers for speedy recovery of those injured.

“It seems that the trolley truck had an accident with the truck in front of it and when the driver applied brakes, the bus behind it rammed into it. Rescue operations were done. Injured have been sent to hospital,” Manoj Pushp, Rewa’s collector.