Seven killed as tempo ferrying labourers collides with truck in Madhya Pradesh

The police said that the tempo came on to the highway from a village road and crashed with the truck at a crossing

At least seven people lost their lives, including three women and a child, and 11 were injured after a commercial vehicle they were travelling in collided with a truck in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur district, police said. 

The vehicle, a loading tempo, was carrying labourers and their family members who were going to a nearby village to work in soya bean fields. 

According to the police, the incident took place around 3:35 p.m near Nunji-Nunja village under Majhgawan police station limits. All the deceased hailed from the tribal community, station in-charge Lokman Ahirwar told The Hindu. 

Mr. Ahirwar said that the tempo came on to the highway from a village road and crashed with the truck at a crossing. 

“The tempo got stuck with the truck and was dragged for a brief distance, resulting in both vehicles overturning,” he said, adding that it was not a passenger vehicle and that it was common in rural areas to travel by commercial vehicles. 

“People tend to carry 15-20 people in these vehicles in villages. We are not sure if it lost balance due to overloading but we are probing that,” Mr. Ahirwar said. 

Jabalpur Additional Superintendent of Police (Rural, Zone 4) Suryakant Sharma said that the truck driver, identified as Omkar Dwivedi, has been arrested. 

He said that the injured have been admitted to a hospital in neighbouring Siroha town. 

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expressed grief over the incident and announced financial assistance of ₹2 lakh to the families of each of the deceased and ₹50,000 to the injured. 

“A sad news has been received about the untimely death of seven passengers travelling in an auto in a head-on collision between a loading auto and a truck near village Nuji on Sihora-Majhgawan Road under Jabalpur district. The district administration has been directed to provide proper treatment to the injured. I express my condolences to the bereaved families in this hour of grief,” Mr. Yadav said in an X post. 

Published - September 18, 2024 11:24 pm IST