Nine persons, including five minors, were killed and two others injured after a cement-laden trailer truck overturned and crushed a van in Madhya Pradesh's Jhabua district in the wee hours of Wednesday, police said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expressed grief over the incident and announced financial assistance for the victims' kin.
The accident took place around 2.30 am under Meghnagar tehsil area when the victims were returning in the van from a wedding function, officials said.
The trailer was crossing an under-construction rail overbridge through a temporary road near Sanjeli railway crossing when it overturned on the van, Jhabua Superintendent of Police (SP) Padmavilochan Shukla told PTI.
Nine persons were killed and two others injured in the accident, he said.
"Deeply anguished by the loss of lives due to an accident in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon," said the Prime Minister's Office on X, quoting the PM.
"An ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF (Prime Minister's National Relief Fund) would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000," it said.
The victims, belonging to two families, were returning from a wedding in Bhavpura to their native Shivgarh Mahuda village when they met with the accident, said SP Shukla.
The deceased have been identified as Mukesh Khaped (40), Savli Khaped (35), Vinod Khaped (16), Payal Khaped (12), Madhi Bamania (38), Vijay Bamania (14), Kanta Bamania (14), Ragini (9) and Akli Parmar (35), he said.
The bodies were sent for post-mortem, and the injured persons were referred to Thandla hospital for treatment.
The truck driver absconded from the spot after the accident, the official said, adding a case was registered and further investigation was underway.
Meanwhile, expressing grief over the accident, CM Yadav announced an assistance of Rs 2 lakh each to the family of the deceased persons and Rs 50,000 to the injured ones, an official said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
