Six persons were killed and two others critically injured when their speeding jeep hit a private bus in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur district on Monday morning while they were returning from Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, officials said.
The victims belonged to Gokak taluka in Belagavi district of Karnataka.
They had left from Gokak for the ongoing Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh on February 18, according to police.
The accident took place near Pahreva village under Khitoula police station limits when the Karnataka-registered jeep was returning from Prayagraj, Jabalpur Collector Deepak Saxena said.
The jeep driver lost control over the wheels. As a result, the vehicle first hit a tree on the road divider, then jumped over to the other side of a highway and hit a bus coming from the opposite direction, he said.
Six persons died on the spot. Two others suffered injuries and they were referred to Jabalpur medical college after initial treatment at a medical facility in Sihora town, the official said.
The victims were returning from Prayagraj and heading towards Karnataka via Jabalpur, he said.
After stopping for a while, the bus driver left from the spot along with his vehicle, an official said, adding that efforts were on to trace the bus.
The collector and the superintendent of police reached the spot soon after getting information about the accident.
The deceased have been identified as Balachandra Gowdar, Sunil Shedashale, Basavaraj Kurni, Basavaraj Doddamani, Eeranna Shebinakatti and Virupaksha Gumatti, police said.
Two other persons, Mustaq and Sadashiva, were critically injured and undergoing treatment, they said.