A search and rescue operation is underway in the Jamli village, where an accident occurred during the Durga immersion ceremony, in Khandwa on Thursday. (ANI Photo)

INDORE: Eleven youths, mostly teenagers, drowned on Thursday evening when a tractor-trolley carrying devotees for Durga idol immersion overturned in a pond in Pandhana town of Khandwa district in Madhya Pradesh.PM Narendra Modi expressed condoled the loss of lives in an accident at Khandwa. Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav also expressed grief over the loss of lives in both Khandwa and Ujjain incidents and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh each for the families of the deceased.The accident took place in Ardala village of Pandhana area, where residents of Padlafata under Rajgarh gram panchayat had reached the water body for the immersion ritual. The trolley lost balance and toppled into the deep water with about 20 to 25 passengers while it was reversed in the water body.Khandwa DIG Siddharth Bahuguna confirmed that seven girls and four boys lost their lives in the incident. The deceased included eight minors “Three others were admitted to the hospital. One remains critical while the other two are out of danger,” he said. Officials said a local kotwar had cautioned the driver against taking the vehicle into the water body, but the warning was ignored. The trolley, while reversing, likely hit a stone and overturned, throwing all occupants into the pond. Many managed to swim to safety, but eleven could not be rescued in time, said DIG Bahuguna. Police said the deceased were identified as Aarti, daughter of Pyare Singh, 18, Dinesh, son of Shantilal, 13, Urmila, daughter of Rel Singh, 16, Sharmila, daughter of Pyar Singh, 15, Ganesh, son of Ter Singh, 20 among others.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 from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs 50,000.

Body of last missing child found after 3-hour search

Rescue operations began immediately, with police, administration and local teams rushing to the spot. A JCB machine was deployed to lift and pull out the overturned trolley from the water. By 6 pm, ten bodies had been recovered, and after a three-hour search, body of last missing child—an eight-year-old girl was found.Witnesses said the victims were part of a group that had set out joyfully to mark the end of Navratri, but celebrations turned into tragedy within minutes.