Twelve people including an entire family of five were killed and three others were injured in a horrific road accident near Ujjain when an overloaded van collided with a car on Monday midnight. The dead included five women and three children.
Ujjain Collector Shashank Mishra said that Arjun Kayat, a local BJP leader, had taken his family and relatives to a wedding in Birlagram, Nagda. The accident took place while they were returning to Ujjain.
Police said all the deceased, including Arjun were in a Maruti van. Those in the car survived the crash due to air bags in their vehicle. The impact of the accident was so great that the van was flung about 50 feet away from point of impact, according to Hindustan Times.
Police and medical teams rushed to the spot and took the occupants of both the vehicles to the district hospital where 12 of them were declared dead.
Those killed in the accident include Arjun Kayat (50), his wife Rajubai (45), two daughters Ravina (24) and Bulbul (22) and son Shubham (20). The other victims were Kayat’s relatives.
Chief Minister Kamal Nath has expressed grief over the accident and announced Rs 0.20 million compensation for the next of kin for adults and Rs 0.10 for children, the collector said.