In a heart-rending incident on Sunday early hours, 10 members of a family were killed in a road accident in Rajnandgaon district when a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) in which they were travelling in collided head-on with a truck on a national highway, police said.
The deceased persons belonged to industrial town Bhilai and they were returning back after offering Navratri prayers at Maa Bamleshwari temple at Dongargarh in Rajnandgaon district. The truck driver was reported to be absconding.
The deadly incident has sent shock waves across the state. Police said that the accident happened when the driver of the SUV tried to overtake another vehicle and collided head-on with a truck coming from the opposite direction near Somni village, 75 km from Raipur.
Nine people travelling in the SUV died on the spot while another person succumbed to injuries while being taken to a local hospital.
A police team rushed to the spot and admitted an injured child to a hospital in Rajnandgaon while three other people were shifted to a hospital in Bhilai town.
The Rajanandgaon-Durg four-lane road is part of the National Highway connecting Mumbai-Kolkata via Raipur and Nagpur.
One way of the road has been closed for vehicular traffic between Anjora village bypass in Durg and Rajnanadgaon town for nine days of the Navratri festival to ensure smooth movement of pilgrims who go on foot to the Maa Bamleshwari Temple.
