Kolkata, Nov 29 : A day after the tragic road accident that took away 18 lives, the state government gave financial assistance to the families of the victims and the injured. The state administration also promised to help the families in all possible ways. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who promised to stand beside the bereaved families had said, "Heartbroken to hear about the road accident in Nadia. I offer my deepest condolences to the bereaved families and pray for the speedy recovery of those who were injured." "May God give them the strength to get past this difficult time. The Government of West Bengal will extend every necessary assistance and support to the kin of the victims. We are beside you in this sad hour," the chief minister had said. Later in the day, the state Minister for Forest Affairs and Non-Conventional and Renewable Energy Sources reached the spot and handed over cheques of Rs 2 lakh to the families of the victims. Speaking to the media, Mallick said, "This is a very bad day for all of us. The state government has assured to stand beside the families. Today we have given Rs 2 lakh to the families of the dead and Rs 50,000 to the injured but this is not the end. We will stand beside the families who have lost everybody. The Panchayat and the state guardian will become their guardian from now onwards." On Saturday night, in a major accident, atleast 18 people were killed and several others were injured on a state highway at Haskhali in Nadia. The accident happened around 3 a.m. when an overcrowded matador carrying a dead body lost control and hit a stone-chip loaded truck standing by the side of the road. "The matador with a dead-body carrying atleast 30 passengers was going towards Nabadwip when it lost control and hit the truck standing by the side of the road. So far we came to know that the body was coming from Bagda in North 24 parganss district and was going to the crematorium," a senior police officer had said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had condoled the families who had died in the accident. /IANS