As many as 14 persons, including two children, were killed and 17 others were injured in four separate road accidents that took place in Madhya Pradesh.
According to reports, all the accidents, one each in Chhindwara and Barwani districts and two in Betul district - occurred on Wednesday night.
In Chhindwara, seven persons, including a child, were killed and five others injured when their jeep fell into a well after hitting a two-wheeler fell near Kodamau village late night.
The victims were reportedly returning from a marriage function in Bhajipani village, Mohkhed . The well had little water and the jeep got stuck after falling into it, the official said. The vehicle was later pulled out with the help of a crane.
The five injured persons were admitted to a hospital.
The deceased were identified as Dipu Ivnati (3), Ajay Ivnati (32), Sachin (19), Rajkumar Choure (40), Sagar (31), Ranjeet Uikey (35) and Ramnath Invati, a police official said.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh CHouhan and state Congress president Kamal Nath, who represents Chhindwara assembly constituency, expressed grief over the death of seven persons in the accident and assistance of Rs four lakh each to the kin of those killed in the accident and Rs 50,000 for the injured persons.
In Barwani, three persons, including a child, were killed and seven others injured when a stationary bus was hit by a truck from behind near Barrufata in the district late night.
The bus had stopped at Barrufata after its tyre got punctured and while the driver and helper were changing the wheel, passengers also got down and stood on a divider.
"Suddenly, a truck rammed into the bus from behind before hitting those standing on the divider," a police official said.
The deceased are identified as Bagga Dangi, Kamlesh Meena and a child aged around six years, the official said.
The bus was on its way to Pune from Bhilwara in Rajasthan, he said, adding the injured persons were admitted to a hospital in Theekri from where they were referred to the district hospital.
In Betul district, three people were killed and one person was injured when two motorcycles collided head-on near Sukhadhana village, Sarni police station in-charge Ratnakar Hingve said.
The deceased have been identified as Ankit Nagde (22), Sahil (24) and Sunny (23), he said. Prima facie, the three victims were not wearing helmets at the time of the accident, the official said.
The injured rider was admitted to a primary health centre in Ghodadongri town in the district, he said.
In another accident in Betul, a speeding dumper collided with a bus while trying to overtake it on an under-construction four-lane road near Shahpura town, a police official said.
The dumper driver, Vikas Dhurve, suffered serious injuries and later died in a hospital, he said. Dhurve's assistant and three bus passengers received injuries and were undergoing treatment, the official said.
(With Inputs from PTI)
