5 dead, many injured after mini truck falls into river in MP's Datia

Datia (Madhya Pradesh) [India], June 28 : Five people, including three children, died and several sustained injuries after a mini truck fell into a river in Madhya Pradesh's Datia on Wednesday, a police official said.

The incident occurred near Buhara village under Dursada police station limits in the district at around 6 am on Wednesday. There were around 30 people travelling in the mini truck.

"A mini truck carrying around 30 people fell into a river near Buhara village in the district in which five people died and many others sustained injuries. These people were going to attend a wedding function in Jatara in Tikamgarh district from Bilheti village in Gwalior district," Datia Collector Sanjay Kumar said.

Those who died include three children, a youth, and a woman. Upon getting the information about the incident, the police rushed to the spot and started the rescue operation, and sent the survivors to the district hospital. The family members, however, said that there might be one more person still in the river for whom rescue efforts were on, he added.

Speaking further he said that there was an under-construction bridge on the spot and primarily it was the negligence of the vehicle driver, but the construction agency should have put a caution board at the diversion point.

Investigation into the matter is going on and further action will be taken accordingly, he added.

Meanwhile, state home minister Narottam Mishra said that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has taken cognizance of the accident and announced financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each to the injured in the incident.