8 migrant workers killed, 55 injured in road accident in MP

Eight migrant workers were killed and nearly 55 others injured when a truck in which they were travelling collided with a bus near Guna town in Madhya Pradesh in the early hours of Thursday, police said.

Earlier, police said the migrant workers were travelling in a bus.

The accident took place around 3 am when a truck carrying nearly 65 migrant labourers from Maharashtra to Uttar Pradesh collided with an empty bus, which only had a driver, coming from the wrong side on Guna bypass road, Superintendent of Police Tarun Nayak said.

Eight migrant workers were killed and 55 others were injured, the official said.

Those hurt were undergoing treatment at the Guna district hospital, he said, adding that none of them sustained any serious injury.

Prima facie, it seems the carelessness of the bus driver caused the accident, Nayak said.

A case has been registered against the bus driver and further investigation is underway, he said.

The deceased were residents of Unnao and Raebareli districts of Uttar Pradesh, according to police.

The truck carrying the migrant labourers was going to Unnao, they said.

Guna Collector S Vishwanathan said the district administration is making arrangements to send the injured labourers home safely after they recover.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan condoled the death of the migrant labourers and said he has directed the officials concerned to ensure proper treatment of the injured persons.

Policemen involved in the rescue work were later quarantined in the wake of the COVID-19 scare, a police official said.