A goods truck and a Bolero collided head-on in Maharashtra's Bhandara district in the early hours of Friday, killing eight people, including three children, and injuring three others.
The accident occurred on the Nagpur-Raipur national highway between Manegaon and Pimpalgaon in Lakhani tehsil at around 4am. The Bolero, carrying passengers travelling from Raipur in Chhattisgarh to Nagpur, collided with the truck with such force that the vehicle was badly damaged. The three injured have been admitted to Sakoli sub-district hospital for treatment.
The collision claimed the lives of five adults and three children. Panic erupted at the scene immediately after the crash, with police and local residents rushing to help. Relief teams pulled the injured from the wreckage and rushed them to hospital. Bhandara Superintendent of Police Noorul Hasan confirmed the death toll of eight. Police have taken possession of the bodies and begun further proceedings, while the injured continue to receive treatment.
Police are now working to establish what caused the crash, including examining the speed of both vehicles and other factors that may have contributed to the impact. Relief teams reportedly had to work hard to clear the damaged Bolero and extricate those trapped inside.
The Bhandara crash comes just a day after another serious road accident in the state. On 10 September, a van and a truck collided on the Nanded-Bhokar road, killing six people and injuring eight others.
The two accidents in as many days have raised concerns over highway safety in Maharashtra. The Bhandara crash was made particularly tragic by the deaths of three children among the victims, who had set out from Raipur towards Nagpur unaware it would be their final journey. Police continue to investigate the exact cause of the collision, while treatment of the injured continues at hospital.