Six women and three children were killed and 23 persons injured when a goods vehicle they were travelling in collided with a truck in Chhattisgarh's Bemetara district, police said on Monday.
The accident took place late Sunday night near Kathia village when the victims, natives of Patharra village, were returning after attending a family function in Tiraiyya village, a senior police official said.
The goods pick-up vehicle collided with the mini truck that was parked by the roadside, the official said.
Eight people identified as Bhuri Nishad (50), Neera Sahu (55), Geeta Sahu (60), Agniya Sahu (60), Khushbu Sahu (39), Madhu Sahu (5), Rikesh Nishad (6) and Twinkle Nishad (6) were killed on the spot while one of the injured, Ratna Sahu (50), died while being shifted to Raipur for advanced treatment, he said.
Three of the critically injured persons are admitted in All India Institute of Medical Sciences Raipur and a fourth in another hospital, he said.
Expressing grief over the incident, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, in a post on X, said "Learnt about the tragic road accident in Kathiya village near Bemetara-Simga border area. Necessary instructions have been given to the district administration for better treatment of the injured."
State minister Dayaldas Baghel and BJP's sitting MP and Durg Lok Sabha candidate Vijay Baghel visited Patharra village and met family members of the victims.
