Overview
- Police in Maharashtra said a pickup carrying pilgrims returning from the Astamba Yatra lost control on the Chandsaili ghat section and plunged into a gorge, leaving eight dead and at least 15 injured.
- In Karnataka’s Haveri district, a mini-truck struck a stationary tractor-trailer on NH-48 near Kakola, with police confirming three dead and about 20 injured and identifying the deceased as Chamanasab Kerimattihalli, Mabusab Doddagubbi and Ningamma Jigaler.
- A competing complaint by occupant Hyder Ali Chamansab alleges four fatalities and 18 injured in the Haveri crash, citing an unmarked stopped tractor and speeding, with a case registered and investigations in progress.
- Separate incidents over Oct 17–19 included seven killed across multiple crashes in Uttar Pradesh, two children dead in a bus overturn in Rajasthan’s Pali, a family of four killed in Bharatpur, and multi-fatality crashes reported in Odisha and West Bengal.
- Reports also highlight recurring risk factors, including parked heavy vehicles without warning lights near Kanpur, a pothole-ridden stretch linked to a student’s death in Bhiwandi, and loss of control in crowded market areas in Ambala, with rescue operations and hospital care ongoing.