2 dead, 7 injured as vehicle heading to PM Modi’s Bilaspur function falls off bridge

An SUV ferrying people to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s event in Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur fell off a bridge and plunged into a river in Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi district on Sunday, killing two people and injuring seven others, PTI quoted police as saying.

According to the report, the accident occurred around 9 am near Kotmi village in the Pendra police station limits.

A police officer explained more about the accident. The SUV, with eight people onboard, was heading to Bilaspur from the Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur (MCB) district.

He added that the SUV driver lost control of the wheel on reaching the bridge over the Son River, following which the vehicle hit a woman pedestrian before plunging into the river.

In the accident, both the woman pedestrian and the driver died on the spot, while seven other occupants of the SUV sustained injuries.

The deceased were identified as Ramita Bai, a resident of Pandrikhar village, and the driver, Babu Lal Chaudhary, the official said.

All the injured were admitted to the Gaurela district hospital, of which five are in critical condition.