The police say the casualties might go up as people were still trapped inside the vehicle.
At least 21 people were killed and 30 others injured when their mini-truck fell down from a bridge in Madhya Pradesh last night, police said.
They were headed for a wedding in Sidhi, about 570 km from Bhopal, when the driver reportedly lost control over the vehicle, hitting the barrier of the bridge over Son river in Sidhi, and nosediving into the dry riverbed. The 100-foot fall instantly killed over 15 people while others suffered critical injuries.
The mini-truck fell off the Jogdaha bridge near Amelia and turned turtle, an officer said.
Passersby informed the police and rescue teams rushed to the spot. The injured were admitted to the district hospital. The police say the casualties might go up as people were still trapped inside the vehicle. Efforts are on to safely bring them out, he said.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced an assistance of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the dead and Rs 50,000 each to the injured, the district collector said.
Last week, at least 18 construction workers died and several others injured when a speeding truck overturned in near Khandala in Maharashtra. Their vehicle had rammed a barricade near Khambatki ghat before overturning on Mumbai-Bengaluru highway.
Around the same time, 30 people, including 27 children, were killed in a dealy crash when a school bus plunged into a ravine in the Himalayan foothills.
(With inputs from agencies)