Three dead after van overturns in valley in C'garh's Kabirdham

Three people, including two women, were today killed and 20 others injured, five of them critically, after the van they were travelling in overturned in a valley in Chhattisgarhs Kabirdham district, police said.

"The Matador van overturned while navigating a sharp curve in Chilfi valley today morning. It was heading to Kamadabri village in Bodla here from Khutatola village in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh," Chilfi police station officer Saurabh Upadhyay told PTI.

They were around 25-30 people in the van and the driver apparently lost control of the vehicle after which it skidded off the road and then overturned, he said.

"Three people, including two women, died instantly. Twenty people have been injured. The condition of five of those injured is critical. The injured are undergoing treatment at Kabirdham district hospital," he said.

"Two of those killed have been identified as Bisin Rai (50) and Sakharam (55). The identity of the third person, a woman, is still being ascertained," he said.

A case has been registered and efforts were underway to track down the driver who fled from the scene of the accident, the official said.