8 labourers killed in pick-up truck crash in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhind

Eight labourers were killed and 32 others injured after their pick-up vehicle collided with a dumper truck on the Bhind-Gwalior National Highway in Madhya Pradesh early Tuesday, police said. The accident occurred around 1 am near Chhimka village.

The labourers were returning to their village in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, after completing paddy transplantation work in Gwalior, the Hindustan Times and The Federal report. Preliminary investigations suggest the driver lost control while trying to save cattle on the highway, causing the vehicle to veer into the wrong lane and hit the oncoming truck, Gohad Chauraha police station in-charge Ramnaresh Yadav told PTI.

Five labourers died on the spot and three succumbed on the way to hospital, the Hindustan Times reports. The injured were rushed to a hospital in Gohad, with those seriously hurt referred to Gwalior for treatment. Police and locals rescued workers trapped in the badly damaged vehicle.