At least 14 people were killed and nine injured in two separate Maharashtra road accidents in Nanded and Bhandara districts on September 11, with both crashes involving heavy vehicles, officials said. The incidents took place on roads connecting major parts of the state and involved passenger and worker vehicles.
In Nanded district, six people died and five were injured after a Tata Magic passenger vehicle collided head-on with a truck at Sitakhandi Ghat on the Nanded-Bhokar road. The injured were taken to hospitals in Bhokar and Nanded, officials said.
The second crash occurred in Bhandara district near Pimpalgaon in Lakhni taluka. A pickup vehicle carrying workers collided with a truck on the Lakhni-Sakoli Highway, near the Motghare petrol pump and a roadside dhaba. Eight people, including three children, were killed and four others suffered serious injuries.
According to preliminary information from District Disaster Management officials, the pickup van was carrying labourers from Chhattisgarh who were travelling towards Nagpur. Officials said the driver may have dozed off before the vehicle rammed into the rear of the truck.
The impact left the pickup van severely damaged and it had to be separated from the truck with the help of a JCB. All eight occupants of the pickup vehicle who died in the Bhandara crash were killed at the scene, officials said.
Four injured people were referred to Government Medical College in Nagpur, while one patient was admitted to a hospital in Bhandara. Three more patients were also being referred to Nagpur for treatment, according to officials.
Residents, police personnel and emergency responders reached the Bhandara crash site after receiving information about the collision. The bodies were removed from the mangled vehicle, and further procedures were underway.
Highway police are investigating the circumstances of both accidents. The investigation will establish the sequence of events and the factors that led to the collisions, officials said.
