12 killed as van hits biker, plunges into well in Madhya Pradesh

INDORE: A van rammed into a bike, killing the biker on the spot, before veering off the road and plunging into a well, resulting in the death of 10 passengers and critical injury to four others in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur district on Sunday afternoon.

A local villager (42), who managed to rescue three passengers, died after inhaling toxic gas in the well.

A Special Disaster Emergency Response Force team deployed a crane to retrieve the van - which was en route to Aantari Mata Temple in Neemuch's Manasa - from the well. They pumped out 8 to 10 feet of water to ensure no one remained trapped inside.

The four injured, including a three-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy, were admitted to Mandsaur district hospital.

Deputy CM Jagdish Devda, along with district collector Aditi Garg and SP Abhishek Anand, supervised the rescue operations. The collector said compensation would be given - Rs 2 lakh for the family of each deceased and Rs 50,000 for each injured. tnn