Nineteen people, including 18 women, were killed and three others injured when a mini goods vehicle carrying a group of tendu leaves collectors plunged into a valley in Chhattisgarh's Kabirdham district on Monday afternoon.
A brake failure in the vehicle, which was ferrying a total of 36 people, led to the major accident, police said.
Kabirdham Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava said the accident took place at around 1.45 pm on Banjari Ghat near Bahpani village under Kukdur police station limits.
Pallava said the nineteen people, all of whom were tribals, were returning home after plucking tendu leaves from a forest in the vehicle meant for transporting goods.
Male Occupants Jumped Out Of Vehicle After Brake Failure
As per preliminary information cited in a news agency PTI report, when the vehicle was descending in Banjari Ghat [valley], the driver shouted that brakes had failed following which many male occupants and he himself jumped off, the IPS officer said.
The vehicle veered off the road, tumbled down 40 feet and crashed onto a road below the valley, the official said.
On the other side of the road where the vehicle crashed there is a 200 feet deep gorge, he said.
Teams of health personnel from nearby Kukdur and Pandariya and a cops rushed to the spot after being alerted about the incident and launched a rescue operation, Pallava said.
The officer said twelve women and a man were killed on the spot, while nine others sustained injuries. "Five women of the nine injured succumbed while being shifted to a hospital," the PTI report quoted him as saying.
The remaining four injured persons, including three women, were shifted to Kabirdham district hospital in Kawardha where a woman succumbed, the SP said.
A case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder will be lodged against the vehicle's owner and the driver, the SP said.
The victims were natives of Semarha village and for the last one week, they were using the same vehicle while going for plucking tendu leaves (used for making 'beedis' or leaf-wrapped cigarettes), he said.
Deputy CM Vijay Sharma, who holds the Home portfolio, visited Pandariya community health centre where 13 bodies were brought for post-mortem, and also the accident spot. Post-mortem of five bodies were performed at Kukdur health centre and of one in the district hospital.
Asked about the cause of the incident, Sharma said as per preliminary information, a brake failure led to the accident.
President Murmu, PM Modi Express Grief
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai expressed grief over the accident and loss of lives.
"The news of the death of many people in a road accident in Kabirdham district of Chhattisgarh is very sad. I express my deepest condolences to the families who lost their loved ones in this accident and wish speedy recovery to those injured," said President Murmu in a message on social media platform 'X'.
PM Modi said on X that the crash as extremely painful, adding that the local administration was engaged in providing all possible help to the victims.
"The road accident that occurred in Kawardha, Chhattisgarh, is very painful. My condolences to those who lost their loved ones in this accident. I wish speedy recovery of the injured. Under the supervision of the state government, the local administration is engaged in providing all possible help to the victims," the PM said in a message.
CM Sai instructed the district administration to provide best possible medical assistance to the injured.
"Learnt about the tragic accident near Bahpani village in Kabirdham district. Necessary instructions have been given to the district administration to provide better treatment to the injured. May the departed souls rest in peace, and I express my deepest condolences to their families. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured," CM Sai said.
