A woman and her nine-year-old son were injured after a luxury car carrying a family of four plunged into a 25-foot-deep gorge between the carriageways of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway near Palsodi in Ratlam early Sunday, police said.
The crash took place around 3:30 am, about 2-3 km ahead of the Dhamnod toll plaza and within the limits of the DD Nagar police station. The family was travelling from Mumbai to Lucknow when the car left the expressway and fell into the gorge.
The occupants were identified as Dipranjan Pandey, 42, his wife Ranjana Pandey, 38, their daughter Ayesha, 12, and their son Aavesh, 9. Police said Ranjana and Aavesh were injured, while Dipranjan and Ayesha were safe. Ranjana was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.
After the vehicle came to rest, Dipranjan kicked open one of its doors, climbed out and pulled his wife and children from the car. He then called Dial 112 for assistance. A DD Nagar police team reached the area after receiving the alert, but officers took time to locate the crash site because of the darkness.
Police contacted the occupants and obtained their location through WhatsApp before reaching them. The crash site had no proper access route to the gorge, requiring police personnel to climb approximately 25 feet down from the road to help the family out.
An NHAI ambulance arrived shortly afterwards and took the four occupants to Ratlam Medical College for treatment. The car was completely damaged in the crash. The supplied report does not specify the cause of the vehicle leaving the expressway or whether any road-safety defect was found at the location.
The immediate rescue operation involved the police, the family and an NHAI ambulance. Further details about the crash investigation and the condition of the injured occupants were not provided in the report.
