At least 12 killed after speeding van hits bike and falls into well
The accident took place in Budha-Takarwat Phante, a rural area under the jurisdiction of the Narayangarh police station in Mandsaur district.
The van was carrying members of a family to a local temple after a wedding when it lost control and fell into a well around 20m from the road.
Among the dead were nine passengers in the van, the motorcyclist, and a local villager who attempted to rescue the victims. Two people died later from injuries and gas exposure. The biker was identified as Govardhan Singh, 65.
Four people were still in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police said the van driver struck the motorcycle and attempted to flee the scene, but lost control. 'The driver of the Eco Van hit a bike rider coming from the front and later the driver tried to flee from the spot. The driver lost control over the van and fell into an open well, which was 20 meters away from the main road,' police superintendent Abhishek Anand was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.
Several villagers rushed to help, pulling out survivors using ropes before emergency services arrived. Among the rescued were a 10-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl.
One of the villagers, Manohar Singh, died during the rescue after apparently inhaling toxic fumes believed to have leaked from an LPG cylinder illegally fitted in the vehicle.
'Manohar Singh showed immense courage and saved the lives of people. He got unconscious in the well. When he did not come out of the well, the villagers stopped the rescue work which resumed after police and state disaster response teams reached the spot. We first used a compressor to evacuate the poisonous gas and later pumped out the water from the well,' deputy inspector general of police Manoj Singh.
The rescue effort, involving the National Disaster Response Force and local authorities, lasted nearly five hours.
Authorities were investigating who was responsible for fitting the unauthorised gas cylinder in the van as suffocation from the leaked gas was suspected to have caused multiple fatalities.
Deputy chief minister Jagdish Devda visited the spot and confirmed the launch of a formal inquiry. 'There were 13 persons, including two children, in the van. Manohar Singh, the villager who was trying to rescue the people, died after inhaling toxic gas,' he said.
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav announced financial compensation for the families of the victims as well as the injured. Prime minister Narendra Modi also expressed condolences and approved ex gratia payments of Rs200,000 (£1,900) to each bereaved family and Rs50,000 (£475) to the injured.
'Saddened by the loss of lives in an accident in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon,' Mr Modi wrote on X.
President Droupadi Murmu said she was "very sad" to hear of the accident.
'I express my deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,' she said on X.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
North Wales Chronicle
11 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Victim satisfaction with police at historic low, survey suggests
The number of people reporting seeing officers regularly on the beat in their neighbourhood is also at its lowest level since records began while confidence in the criminal justice system is continuing to decline. The findings have been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) using data from its long-running annual crime survey of people aged 16 and over. Some 51% of survey respondents who had been a victim of crime in the 12 months to March 2025 said they were either very or fairly satisfied with how the police handled the matter. This is down from 55% in the previous year and is the lowest figure since this question was first asked in 1992. Satisfaction rose steadily between 2006/07 (58% of victims) and 2013/14 (a peak of 75%) but has since been on a general downward trend. The ONS found differences in victim satisfaction by crime type, ranging from 62% in the latest survey for domestic burglary and 58% for violence, to 41% for bicycle theft and just 26% for theft from the person. There were also differences by age, with victims aged 16 to 24 less likely to be satisfied with the police response (32%) compared with those aged 45 to 54 (61%), 65 to 74 (59%) and 75 and over (61%). The proportion of incidents where the victim was satisfied with how the police dealt with the matter was higher when the offender was charged (95%) compared with when no action was taken (36%), and where the victim was kept informed by the police (77%) compared with where the victim was not kept informed well (19%). On the topic of police visibility, 11% of respondents in the year to March reported seeing officers or community support officers on foot patrol in their local area once a week. This is down from 12% in the previous year and is the lowest since this question was first asked in 2006/07, when it stood at 26%. The figure peaked at 39% in both 2009/10 and 2010/11, since when it has been on a continued downward trend. Ministers have committed to recruiting 13,000 more neighbourhood policing officers by 2029, with 3,000 extra recruits to be in post by spring next year. Last Wednesday, the Home Office said every community across England and Wales has now been assigned a 'named, contactable' officer to handle reports of crimes like anti-social behaviour. The move comes to boost police visibility in town centres and ensure the public has 'consistent direct links' to their local force. The ONS found people living in urban areas were more likely to report high police visibility (13%) compared with rural areas (4%), while those aged 65 to 74 (5%) and 75 and over (7%) were less likely to report this compared with other age groups. Some 49% of all respondents gave their local police a positive rating in 2024/25, unchanged on the previous 12 months but down from 62% a decade earlier in 2014/15. This figure has been on a general downward trend in recent years, the ONS said. People identifying as Asian (55%), black (55%) or other ethnic groups (57%) were more likely to rate their local police positively than those identifying as white (48%), while those who were aged 55 to 64 (44%) and 65 to 74 (43%) were less likely to provide a positive rating compared with other age groups. When asked whether they were confident the criminal justice system as a whole was effective, 48% of survey respondents said they had confidence, down from 50% the previous year and the lowest figure since 2012/13. Confidence rose from 38% in 2008/09 to peak at 54% in 2015/16, since when there has been a gradual decline. People aged 16 to 24 were more likely to report being confident in the effectiveness of the criminal justice system (61%) than all other age groups, while people born in the UK were less likely to be confident (43%) than those born outside the country (65%).
Glasgow Times
11 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Victim satisfaction with police at historic low, survey suggests
The number of people reporting seeing officers regularly on the beat in their neighbourhood is also at its lowest level since records began while confidence in the criminal justice system is continuing to decline. The findings have been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) using data from its long-running annual crime survey of people aged 16 and over. Some 51% of survey respondents who had been a victim of crime in the 12 months to March 2025 said they were either very or fairly satisfied with how the police handled the matter. This is down from 55% in the previous year and is the lowest figure since this question was first asked in 1992. Satisfaction rose steadily between 2006/07 (58% of victims) and 2013/14 (a peak of 75%) but has since been on a general downward trend. The ONS found differences in victim satisfaction by crime type, ranging from 62% in the latest survey for domestic burglary and 58% for violence, to 41% for bicycle theft and just 26% for theft from the person. There were also differences by age, with victims aged 16 to 24 less likely to be satisfied with the police response (32%) compared with those aged 45 to 54 (61%), 65 to 74 (59%) and 75 and over (61%). The proportion of incidents where the victim was satisfied with how the police dealt with the matter was higher when the offender was charged (95%) compared with when no action was taken (36%), and where the victim was kept informed by the police (77%) compared with where the victim was not kept informed well (19%). On the topic of police visibility, 11% of respondents in the year to March reported seeing officers or community support officers on foot patrol in their local area once a week. This is down from 12% in the previous year and is the lowest since this question was first asked in 2006/07, when it stood at 26%. The figure peaked at 39% in both 2009/10 and 2010/11, since when it has been on a continued downward trend. Ministers have committed to recruiting 13,000 more neighbourhood policing officers by 2029, with 3,000 extra recruits to be in post by spring next year. Last Wednesday, the Home Office said every community across England and Wales has now been assigned a 'named, contactable' officer to handle reports of crimes like anti-social behaviour. The move comes to boost police visibility in town centres and ensure the public has 'consistent direct links' to their local force. The ONS found people living in urban areas were more likely to report high police visibility (13%) compared with rural areas (4%), while those aged 65 to 74 (5%) and 75 and over (7%) were less likely to report this compared with other age groups. Some 49% of all respondents gave their local police a positive rating in 2024/25, unchanged on the previous 12 months but down from 62% a decade earlier in 2014/15. This figure has been on a general downward trend in recent years, the ONS said. People identifying as Asian (55%), black (55%) or other ethnic groups (57%) were more likely to rate their local police positively than those identifying as white (48%), while those who were aged 55 to 64 (44%) and 65 to 74 (43%) were less likely to provide a positive rating compared with other age groups. When asked whether they were confident the criminal justice system as a whole was effective, 48% of survey respondents said they had confidence, down from 50% the previous year and the lowest figure since 2012/13. Confidence rose from 38% in 2008/09 to peak at 54% in 2015/16, since when there has been a gradual decline. People aged 16 to 24 were more likely to report being confident in the effectiveness of the criminal justice system (61%) than all other age groups, while people born in the UK were less likely to be confident (43%) than those born outside the country (65%).
South Wales Guardian
12 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Victim satisfaction with police at historic low, survey suggests
The number of people reporting seeing officers regularly on the beat in their neighbourhood is also at its lowest level since records began while confidence in the criminal justice system is continuing to decline. The findings have been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) using data from its long-running annual crime survey of people aged 16 and over. Some 51% of survey respondents who had been a victim of crime in the 12 months to March 2025 said they were either very or fairly satisfied with how the police handled the matter. This is down from 55% in the previous year and is the lowest figure since this question was first asked in 1992. Satisfaction rose steadily between 2006/07 (58% of victims) and 2013/14 (a peak of 75%) but has since been on a general downward trend. The ONS found differences in victim satisfaction by crime type, ranging from 62% in the latest survey for domestic burglary and 58% for violence, to 41% for bicycle theft and just 26% for theft from the person. There were also differences by age, with victims aged 16 to 24 less likely to be satisfied with the police response (32%) compared with those aged 45 to 54 (61%), 65 to 74 (59%) and 75 and over (61%). The proportion of incidents where the victim was satisfied with how the police dealt with the matter was higher when the offender was charged (95%) compared with when no action was taken (36%), and where the victim was kept informed by the police (77%) compared with where the victim was not kept informed well (19%). On the topic of police visibility, 11% of respondents in the year to March reported seeing officers or community support officers on foot patrol in their local area once a week. This is down from 12% in the previous year and is the lowest since this question was first asked in 2006/07, when it stood at 26%. The figure peaked at 39% in both 2009/10 and 2010/11, since when it has been on a continued downward trend. Ministers have committed to recruiting 13,000 more neighbourhood policing officers by 2029, with 3,000 extra recruits to be in post by spring next year. Last Wednesday, the Home Office said every community across England and Wales has now been assigned a 'named, contactable' officer to handle reports of crimes like anti-social behaviour. The move comes to boost police visibility in town centres and ensure the public has 'consistent direct links' to their local force. The ONS found people living in urban areas were more likely to report high police visibility (13%) compared with rural areas (4%), while those aged 65 to 74 (5%) and 75 and over (7%) were less likely to report this compared with other age groups. Some 49% of all respondents gave their local police a positive rating in 2024/25, unchanged on the previous 12 months but down from 62% a decade earlier in 2014/15. This figure has been on a general downward trend in recent years, the ONS said. People identifying as Asian (55%), black (55%) or other ethnic groups (57%) were more likely to rate their local police positively than those identifying as white (48%), while those who were aged 55 to 64 (44%) and 65 to 74 (43%) were less likely to provide a positive rating compared with other age groups. When asked whether they were confident the criminal justice system as a whole was effective, 48% of survey respondents said they had confidence, down from 50% the previous year and the lowest figure since 2012/13. Confidence rose from 38% in 2008/09 to peak at 54% in 2015/16, since when there has been a gradual decline. People aged 16 to 24 were more likely to report being confident in the effectiveness of the criminal justice system (61%) than all other age groups, while people born in the UK were less likely to be confident (43%) than those born outside the country (65%).
