Eight people, returning from Diwali celebrations, died in a devastating accident near Ladua village in Balrampur district when the vehicle they were travelling in, plunged into a 10-foot-deep water-filled pit.
A family travelling in the SUV met with the accident on Saturday 8.30 pm when the driver lost control over the vehicle. The tragic incident has left the community in a shock. Authorities are investigating the cause of the accident, which they suspected to be over-speeding.
The crash scene was grim. The vehicle plunged forcefully into the pit, hidden by dense bushes, with its doors automatically locking on impact. The passengers got helplessly trapped in their vehicle.
Locals were able to pull the driver out through an open window, immediately alerting authorities to the disaster.
Rajpur police, arriving promptly, mobilised a JCB machine to retrieve the sunken vehicle. Tragically, by the time the Scorpio was pulled from the pit, the remaining passengers had already lost their lives.
The victims included Sanjay Munda, his wife Chandrawati, their daughter Kriti, and four other passengers, among them 18-year-old Avneet, whose body was discovered after a late-night search. The passengers had been en route from Kusmi’s Larima to Surajpur when the tragic accident occurred. Rajpur Block Medical Officer (BMO) Dr Ram Prasad confirmed that all bodies have been placed in the Rajpur mortuary, awaiting post-mortem examination scheduled for Sunday.
The accident sent shockwaves through the community as distraught relatives flocked to Rajpur upon receiving the tragic news. Police are probing possible mechanical failures in the five-year-old Scorpio, registered in Ambikapur in 2019, to ascertain if a technical glitch played a role in the disaster.
Authorities have vowed a comprehensive investigation, and the community anxiously awaits answers while mourning the heartbreaking loss of lives.