BHOPAL: A man was charred to death when the car in which he was traveling hit a tree early on Friday morning, near Dinera-Puni road village at Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh, an official said.
The car, carrying a group of individuals from Durg, Chhattisgarh, crashed into a tree and subsequently gutted in fire near Murmari village, under the jurisdiction of Rampayali police station in Balaghat district.
The impact and ensuing blaze resulted in the tragic death of one occupant, Rakesh Srivas, who was unable to escape the burning vehicle. The other passengers, who managed to get out of the car, sustained severe injuries. The group had been returning home after attending a wedding in Katangi, Balaghat.
Rakesh Srivas, unfortunately, did not survive the accident, while morning walkers came across the scene and promptly informed the police.
Chandrajeet Yadav, the in-charge of Rampayali police station, provided details of the incident to IANS over the phone, stating that the injured passengers were admitted to different hospitals due to the critical nature of their conditions.
After primary treatment, two of the injured, Satyaprakash Patle (27) and Krishna Sahu (18), were referred to a nearby town in Gondia, Maharashtra, where their family members took them to private medical facilities for better treatment.
The remaining injured passengers, Shlok Joshi (29) and Vikram Khande (19), are currently receiving medical care at the district hospital in Balaghat.
The police officer further shared that the body of Rakesh Srivas, had been reduced to nearly ashes due to the intense fire.
After consulting with the district hospital doctor, it was decided that the body would be sent to Bhopal for a post-mortem if performing it in Balaghat was not possible due to its condition.
When asked about the cause of the accident, the police officer mentioned that the matter is still under investigation.
However, he speculated that the driver might have dozed off at the wheel, leading to a loss of control since the group had started their journey back to Chhattisgarh late in the evening after the wedding ceremony.