At least seven people were killed and around 20 others injured after a speeding truck rammed into a Bolero pickup van carrying a Durga idol on the Samruddhi Mahamarg near Dhamangaon in Maharashtra’s Amravati district early Thursday, police said.
The victims were young devotees and members of a temple group from Somnath Layout, behind Agnihotri College, in Sindi Meghe, Wardha. They were returning home from Shegaon with the idol ahead of the Navratri festival when the collision occurred. Amravati district superintendent of police (SP) Niketan Kadam, special inspector general of police Mahesh Patil, and Dhamangaon municipal president Archana Rothe visited the site and the hospital to oversee relief efforts. The exact cause of the crash is yet to be established, and a detailed inquiry is underway.
The accident took place at around 3:30 am near chainage number 97, close to the Amravati-Dhamangaon railway stretch.
“Police teams reached the scene immediately to initiate rescue operations and begin investigating the collision,” SP Kadam said.
Five people died on the spot, while two others died on the way to the hospital. The deceased were identified as Ghanshyam Patil, Praveen Bakane, Golu Badalgwar, Om Gawde, Dataji Khursage, Roshan Raut, and one unidentified individual. The injured were initially taken to the Dhamangaon Rural Hospital before being shifted to the Sawangi Meghe Medical College and Hospital in Wardha for specialised care.
Hospital officials said that at least five of the injured remain in critical condition.
