2 minors among 4 killed as goods vehicle falls into river in Chhattisgarh

Durg: Two minor girls, a man and a woman were killed when a small goods vehicle they were travelling in fell into a river from a bridge in Chhattisgarh's Durg city in the wee hours of Wednesday, police said.

The accident took place at around 1 am on an old bridge over the Shivnath river in Pulgaon area when the vehicle was heading towards Durg on Rajnandgaon-Durg road, Pulgaon station house officer Tapeshwar Singh Netam said.

After being alerted about the incident, a team of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) comprising 25 personnel launched the rescue operation early morning, he said.

The vehicle was located within four hours of the rescue operation and it was fished out from the river using a hydra machine, he said. Rescuers retrieved the four bodies from the vehicle at around 10 am, the official said.

As per preliminary information, the four victims had dinner at a roadside eatery on the outskirts of Durg before approaching towards the city, he said.

The deceased man has been identified as Lalit Sahu (38), a resident of Borsi locality here. The deceased woman and the two minor girls were yet to be identified, the official said.

An accidental death report has been registered and further probe is underway, he added.