Photo: In Transit / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
At least eight people were killed and more than a dozen injured early on Saturday, October 17, when a tempo traveller carrying pilgrims from Madhya Pradesh left the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Rajasthan’s Kota district and fell roughly 20 feet into a seasonal drain. The crash took place in the Simliya police station area, and Kota District Collector Piyush Samariya confirmed the toll of eight.
What happened
The group, numbering somewhere between 20 and 25 according to different accounts, had set out from Madhya Pradesh on Friday evening to visit the Khatu Shyam temple at Reengus in Sikar district. Police said the passengers came from the Bhopal and Betul areas.
Simliya Station House Officer Nand Singh said the vehicle had passed the Karadiya toll plaza and was heading towards Sultanpur when the driver lost control. It broke through the roadside barrier, dropped into the drain beside a culvert and slammed into a wall. The front of the vehicle was crushed, trapping several people inside. Many passengers were reportedly asleep at the time.
The driver apparently dozed off while driving on the eight-lane expressway, causing the bus to fall into a culvert.
Ram Kalyan Meena, Additional Superintendent of Police, Kota
Police have said this is only a preliminary view and that an investigation into the exact cause is under way.
Rescue and treatment
People from nearby villages and motorists on the expressway were the first to help, before police, rescue staff of the National Highways Authority of India and ambulances arrived. Mud and standing water inside the drain made the work harder, and a crane was brought in to lift the wrecked vehicle and reach those still trapped.
The injured were taken to the New Medical College Hospital and MBS Hospital in Kota. Mr Meena said around 15 to 17 people were being treated. The Collector said all patients in critical condition had been moved to intensive care. The toll rose through the morning: the principal of Kota Medical College, Nilesh Jain, had earlier put the number of dead at seven, with at least 17 injured.
Reactions and what comes next
Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot called the news deeply saddening, offered condolences to the bereaved families and wished the injured a quick recovery.
Police said the identities of all the dead and injured had not yet been confirmed. Officials still have to identify every victim and reach their families in Madhya Pradesh, while the police inquiry examines why the driver lost control.
Why it matters
The vehicle had been on the road through the night before the crash, and the police’s early suspicion that the driver fell asleep points to the risk of fatigue on long overnight journeys. On an eight-lane expressway built for high speeds, a few seconds without control was enough for the vehicle to break through the barrier and leave the road.
