Gwalior truck accident kills 15 near Sheetla Mata Temple, PM Modi announces compensation
Gwalior: At least 15 were killed and over 25 injured Sunday night when an unroadworthy truck hit an assembly of devotees at Sheetla Mata Temple in the Madhya Pradesh town of Gwalior. PM Narendra Modi expressed sorrow on the accident and assured financial help to the victims’ families and the families.
Initially it was stated that the truck was on the slope on the Chinor side and getting ready for a trip. Around 1am it was said that its brakes jammed leading it to roll downhill and roll over before hitting the temple gate in which devotees had gathered for darshan.
Multiple people were injured when the impact crashed people waiting near the entrance. Information about the accident was received by police and administrative teams and they immediately went to the site of the accident to begin rescue operations.
The truck was removed with the use of a crane and the rescuing of the devotees under the truck was carried out. The injured person has been rushed to the trauma centre at Jayarogya Hospital for treatment. There were also two members of the Home Guard who were on duty who were injured.
The Prime Minister’s office on X shared an expression of condolence for the cause of lives, extended condolences to the deceased families and prayed for quick recovery for the injured victims.
To the next of kin of each rescued person, Modi said that he would be contributing 2 lakh rupees from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) to them, ex gratia. The accident-injured will be paid ₹50,000.
Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi also condoled the incident. In a post to X, he expressed his condolences to families losing loved ones and quick recovery to the injured.
The accident has left the community extremely upset by the death of a number of their devotees who had come to the temple. The incident and conditions around the reported brake failure are still being investigated and further information is expected shortly.