Five killed, 12 injured in accidents in MP's Betul district

Betul (MP): Five persons were killed and 12 injured in separate accidents involving heavy vehicles in Madhya Pradesh's Betul district, police said on Sunday.

Two persons died, and 12 sustained injuries when a tractor-tractor transporting them overturned near Hanuman Dol on Betul-Parasia Road around 7 am on Sunday, an official said.

Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Kamla Joshi said the victims were labourers returning home to their village from Betul railway station in a tractor-trolley.

The vehicle overturned, killing two of them, she said, adding that the injured were taken to a hospital.

The official said the labourers had travelled to Betul from Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, where they had gone to work in a factory a month ago.

District Collector Narendra Raghuvanshi said there were 21 persons on the tractor-trolley, all residents of Bakud and Dulara villages in Ghoradongri tehsil, who returned from Kanyakumari for the festive season.

He said one of three critically injured persons was referred to Bhopal for further treatment.

In another accident in the district, three persons were killed when a truck hit their two-wheeler on Betul-Athner road around 11 pm on Saturday, police said.

The accident occurred near Bharkawadi village, around 10 km from the district headquarters, said Anjana Dhurve, the in-charge of Betul Bazar police station.

A truck transporting fertiliser hit the two-wheeler, and the injured men were rushed to the hospital, where doctors declared them dead, she said.

The official said the victims were identified as Vijay (35), Krishna Dhurve (20) and Raghunath Sareyam (38).

A case was registered against the truck driver who fled from the spot, leaving the vehicle behind, she said.