Five migrant workers were killed and 13 persons injured after their truck overturned on a highway in Narsinghpur district of Madhya Pradesh on the night of May 9, said district officials.
“Perched atop a heap of mangoes laden on the Agra-bound truck coming from Hyderabad, 15 migrant workers were headed towards Jhansi and Etah districts of Uttar Pradesh,” said Rahul Wasnik, Assistant Director, Narsinghpur administration.
Around 11.30 p.m. on May 9, the truck, with a driver, a co-driver and a cleaner in the driver’s cabin, overturned on National Highway 44 near Mungwani, 30 km from Narsingpur, he said.
‘Speeding may be reason’
“The deceased were crushed under the truck. Prima facie, speeding appears to be the reason for the accident. We are inquiring into it,” added Mr. Wasnik.
Eleven of the injured were admitted to the district hospital, while two critically injured were shifted to a medical college in Jabalpur, some 100 km away. Their identities are yet to be ascertained.
Condoling the deaths, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, “Senior officials of the government are on the spot to ensure complete treatment for the injured. I pray for their speedy recovery and strength to families of the deceased.”
On May 8, as many as 16 workers from Madhya Pradesh, attempting to walk back home along railway tracks, were run over by a freight train between Jalna and Aurangabad districts in Maharashtra.
