8 killed, 32 injured as pick-up vehicle collides head-on with truck in MP

At least eight labourers were killed and 32 others injured after the pick-up vehicle carrying them collided head-on with a dumper truck in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhind district in the early hours of Tuesday, police said.

The crash took place around 1 am near Chhimka village on the Bhind-Gwalior National Highway, when the labourers were returning to their homes in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri after completing paddy transplantation work in Gwalior.

According to police, the preliminary investigation suggests that the pick-up driver lost control while trying to avoid cattle sitting on the highway. The vehicle veered onto the wrong side of the road and slammed into a dumper approaching from the opposite direction, Gohad Chauraha police station in-charge Ramnaresh Yadav said.

The impact left the pick-up badly mangled, trapping several workers inside. Five labourers died at the spot, while three others succumbed to their injuries while being taken to hospital, police said.

Following an alert, police reached the scene and, with the help of local residents, pulled the trapped workers from the wreckage. All 32 injured labourers were rushed to a hospital in Gohad, where they received initial treatment. Those in serious condition were subsequently referred to hospitals in Gwalior.

The accident has once again highlighted the dangers faced by migrant labourers travelling long distances after seasonal agricultural work, while the circumstances surrounding the crash remain under investigation.

With PTI inputs