Six killed, one injured in road accident in Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon  

Six persons were killed and another was injured when the car they were travelling in jumped off the divider and collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction in Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon district on Friday, police said.

The accident occurred around 5.30 am near Chirchari village under Baghnadi police station limits when the victims were heading to neighbouring Odisha, Rajnandgaon Superintendent of Police Mohit Garg said.

The group of seven friends, aged between 25 and 30 years, had set out from Indore for a tour. After visiting Ujjain, they were heading to Puri in Odisha via Chhattisgarh, he said.

Citing the preliminary investigation, police said the driver might have dozed off, causing the car to veer into the opposite lane. It collided with a truck coming from the other direction, resulting in the death of five persons in the car at the scene, he said.

Another occupant of the car succumbed to his injuries in a nearby hospital, he said.

The person driving the car sustained serious injuries and has been admitted to the medical college hospital here, he added.

Five of the deceased persons have been identified as Akash Maurya (28), Govind (33), Aman Rathore (26), Nitin Yadav (34), all residents of Madhya Pradesh, and Sangram Kesari of Odisha, the official said.

Further investigation into the matter is underway, he added.