15 Dead in Van Crash on Indore-Ahmedabad Highway

At least 15 people, mostly laborers including women and children, died and several others were injured when a pickup van overturned and collided with an oncoming SUV on the Indore-Ahmedabad National Highway in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district on Wednesday night.

The accident occurred between 8:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. near Chikliya crossing in the Tirla area. Officials said the van, carrying around 35 to 46 laborers returning home from Baggad, lost control, flipped over and struck the SUV. Preliminary investigations point to possible overloading as a factor, though police in Tirla have registered a case and are probing further.

Indore Divisional Commissioner Dr. Sudam P. Khade, who visited the site and district hospital, confirmed the death toll rose to 15 on Thursday as three more victims succumbed to injuries. "A very tragic incident occurred in Dhar. I was informed that 46 persons, mostly laborers, were traveling in a pickup vehicle. It overturned and caused an accident. We have received information about the deaths of 15 people," Khade told reporters.

Among the deceased were young children and teenagers, such as 9-year-old girls Tanu and Kiran, 14-year-old boys Sumit and Aayush, and...