6 Madhya Pradesh labourers killed as truck rams pickup van in Gondia

Some labourers from Madhya Pradesh were travelling towards Telangana in search of work when a speeding truck rammed their pickup vehicle in the dead of night near Nagra in Gondia district. Six people, including a three-year-old child, were killed, and seven others were seriously injured.

Those killed were identified as Arush Matre (3, resident of Sawari, Balaghat district), Kiran Santosh Vaidde (26, resident of Lodana), Santosh Matre (38), Sushila Matre (35, both residents of Kinhi), Rupsen Satyakar (35) and Jyoti Satyakar (32). The injured include Bhumeshwar Matre (47), Sangita Matre (35), Rajendra Panchale (30), Laxmi Panchal (27), Santosh Vaidya (35), Rakesh Bahe (24) and the vehicle's driver Sandeep Bahe. The group had left their village to escape poverty at home and hoped to find work in distant Telangana.

The pickup vehicle was completely destroyed in the collision with the speeding truck. Moments after talking among themselves, the labourers were suddenly screaming and crying out for help. Three-year-old Arush was among those killed in the accident.

The labourers had decided to head to Jagtial in Telangana for work as their village did not provide enough income to run their households. Sustaining a family back home had become difficult, which is why they had decided to migrate. The journey, undertaken in a single pickup vehicle, had begun as a source of hope for the families, but the speeding truck near Nagra in Gondia district ended it.

Police administration said the accident occurred because both vehicles involved were travelling at uncontrolled speed. The same stretch of road has seen several accidents, big and small, over the past year, claiming lives and injuring many others. The police department has appealed to motorists to keep their speed in check given the condition of the road and route.