Six migrant labourers were killed and 14 others injured, one of them seriously, when the truck in which they were travelling overturned in Madhya Pradesh's Narsinghpur district, a police official said on Sunday.
Five of the victims died on the spot, while another one died during treatment, the official said.
The accident occurred near Patha village, around 40 kms from the district headquarters on Saturday night when nearly 20 migrant labourers were going in the truck to Jhansi, Etah and Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh from Hyderabad, Additional Superintendent of Police Rajesh Tiwari said.
As per the initial investigation, the lorry, which was also carrying raw mangoes, was being driven at a breakneck speed, he said.
"While five labourers died on the spot, two critically injured were rushed to a hospital at divisional headquarters Jabalpur- for treatment, where one of them died around 6 pm on Sunday," Tiwari added.
Thirteen others, who suffered injuries in the accident, including the truck driver, are undergoing treatment at the (Narsinghpur) district hospital. They have been quarantined, he said.
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The bodies of the deceased were sent home after post- mortem, the ASP added.
The driver has been booked under relevant IPC sections.
In a bid to overtake another vehicle, the truck lost its balance and overturned. Truck drivers usually drive the vehicles very fast if they are carrying perishable commodities like vegetables and fruits to the market, he added.
"The ill-fated truck was on its way to a mandi (market) in Uttar Pradesh," the ASP added.