The PMO announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the families of the victims.
At least 12 people, including women and children, were killed and several others were injured when a speeding truck ploughed into a religious procession in Bihar's Vaishali district on Sunday evening, officials said.
The accident took place in Desri police station area of the north Bihar district, about 30 kms from the state capital, around 9 PM when the procession had gathered in front of a "peepal" tree on the roadside to offer prayers to a local deity "Bhumiya baba".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the accident and announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the family of each victim and Rs 50,000 to each injured persons.
"The accident in Vaishali, Bihar is saddening. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. An ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF (Prime Minister's National Relief Fund) would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs 50,000," the Prime Minister said on Twitter.
President Droupadi Murmu expressed grief over the incident and said the reports of the accident is "extremely painful".
RJD MLA Mukesh Roushan, under whose Mahua assembly constituency the site of the incident falls, rushed to the area and said "at least nine people have died on the spot. Many others have been taken to the Sadar hospital at Hajipur (the district headquarters), and three succumbed to injuries on the way. Those whose conditions are critical are being referred to hospitals in Patna".
Vaishali Superintendent of Police Manish Kumar said "the procession was taken out as part of a custom associated with marriages. A wedding was scheduled in a few days at the house of a resident of Sultanpur village nearby. The driver of the truck speeding through the adjacent Mahnar-Hajipur highway lost control. He is stuck inside the mangled vehicle and we fear that he might have died".
Locals claimed that the victims included at least four children.
Chaos prevailed in the area as those who had lost their near and dear ones stood wailing beside the road while many others raised angry slogans alleging that the police reached after much delay.
The SP said, "We have summoned personnel from a number of adjoining police stations to speed up the rescue work and keep the law and order situation under control".
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed grief over the accident and directed the district administration to ensure proper treatment to those who have been injured and speedy disbursement of compensation, as per norms, among the family of each victim.
Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav also offered his condolences to the families of those who died in the accident.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)