The death toll in the accident of a private bus in Madhya Pradesh's Maihar district has gone up to nine as three more persons succumbed to their injuries, police said on Sunday.
The deceased hailed from Jaunpur and Pratapgarh in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, they said.
Nearly 20 persons were also injured after the bus rammed into a stationary stone-laden truck in Maihar around 11 pm on Saturday, they said.
Cases have been registered against the truck driver, who is absconding, and the injured bus driver, police said.
The accident occurred on National Highway 30, about 25 km from the district headquarters.
The bus started from Prayagraj with around 45 passengers and was heading for Nagpur via Rewa when it crashed near the Nadan Dehat police station, Maihar Superintendent of Police (SP) Sudhir Agrawal told PTI.
While six persons died on the spot, three more succumbed to their injuries at a hospital in Satna, taking the death toll to nine, he said.
The deceased, all male, included a four-year-old boy, the official said.
The deceased have been identified, and six of them hailed from Jaunpur and three from Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh, Agrawal said.
The post-mortem of six victims was done in Maihar and three in Satna, where they breathed their last, he added.
The SP said the injured persons, most of them from Jaunpur and Pratapgarh, were admitted to different hospitals, including in Rewa.
Inspector K N Banjare of Nadan Dehat police station said bodies of seven victims were handed over to family members, and they were waiting for the arrival of families of the other two deceased.
The official said it appeared that the bus was speeding.
"We have registered cases against the absconding truck driver who parked the vehicle without turning on the indicators and the injured bus driver (for careless driving)," Banjare told PTI.
Rescue teams used a gas cutter and an excavator machine to extricate passengers from the wreckage, the SP Agrawal said.
According to the police, the rescue operation was wrapped up at around 2 am on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expressed sorrow over the tragedy.
"Nine deaths have been confirmed, while one passenger's condition was critical. I pray to the almighty to heal the injured," he wrote in a post on X.
He said the district administration was instructed to provide treatment to the injured and extend financial help to family members of the deceased according to government rules.
Condoling the incident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the loss of lives in the Maihar tragedy was painful.
"My sympathies are with the grief-stricken family members of the deceased," he wrote on X.
Adityanath said he contacted the MP government for all possible help to the victims.
