Maharashtra accident victims cremated in Madhya Pradesh's Barwani district, ex-gratia announced

BARWANI: A pall of gloom descended on three villages in Pati block of Barwani district on Monday as the eight pilgrims who were killed in an accident in neighbouring Maharashtra were cremated. The cremations took place in the presence of police and administrative officials.
Eight people died on Sunday evening when their overloaded four-wheeler could not negotiate a steep climb on a ghat road and rolled backwards, plunging into a 400-ft-deep gorge in Maharashtra’s Nandur bar area.
Barwani collector Shivraj Singh Verma said 26 people were travelling in the MUV when the accident took place. Rescuers had a very hard time reaching the victims. Bodies were sprawled all over the hillsides, and the car lay crushed in a deep ravine in Toranmal Sindidigar Ghat, just across the MP border.
One of the survivors, Kalod resident Asaram, said the vehicle started rolling backwards on a steep incline. “The driver jumped. Some people sitting on the roof, including me, also jumped before it plunged into the gorge,” he said.
The families of the deceased were given Rs 11,000 each from the Red Cross Society and Rs 5,000 each from the panchayats for the final rites. An ex gratia, announced by the government, will be given to them soon.