Six devotees from Gokak, Belagavi, lost their lives in a horrific road accident when the jeep they were traveling in collided with a bus in Jabalpur district, Madhya Pradesh, on Monday.
The tragic incident occurred around 4:30 AM near Pahrewa village in Sihora tehsil, along NH-7. The victims were returning home after attending the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.
The deceased have been identified as:
Virupaxi Gumati, son of Chinappa
Basavaraj Kurati, son of Nirupadappa
Balchandra, son of Narayan
Raju, son of Chinappa
Suneel
Veerana
All six were residents of Gokak, Karnataka.
Two other passengers sustained serious injuries and were rushed to a local hospital in Sihora before being referred to the Medical College in Jabalpur for specialized treatment.
According to Jabalpur Collector Deepak Saxena, the Karnataka-registered jeep was heading back from Prayagraj when the driver lost control. The vehicle first crashed into a tree on the road divider before veering into the opposite lane, where it was struck by an oncoming bus.
All six victims died on the spot. Authorities confirmed that the group was returning to Karnataka via Jabalpur when the tragedy unfolded.
In a shocking turn of events, the bus driver fled with the vehicle after briefly stopping at the accident site. Law enforcement officials have launched a search operation to locate the driver and the bus.
Upon receiving news of the accident, the district collector and superintendent of police rushed to the scene to oversee rescue operations and assess the situation.