Six people were killed and 40 others injured after a bus crashed into a roadside tree in Chhattisgarh’s Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur (MCB) district on Thursday afternoon (October 22, 2026), the police said.

Superintendent of Police (MCB) Ratna Singh said the accident happened near Semarmathani turn when the bus traveling from Manendragarh to Kelhari village hit the tree.

According to an injured passenger, the driver lost control of the vehicle and smashed into a roadside tree, the SP said.

“Six people, including four women, died in the accident, while around 20 others, including the driver, sustained serious injuries. Twenty other passengers sustained minor wounds,” Ms. Singh added.

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai announced financial assistance of ₹5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and ₹50,000 each to the injured.

In a post on X, Mr. Sai wrote: “The untimely demise of 6 people in a horrific bus accident on the Manendragarh-Kelhari road is deeply distressing. I extend my heartfelt condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones in this heart-wrenching incident.”

The injured are undergoing treatment at the Civil Hospital in Manendragarh and the District Hospital in Chirmiri, while two passengers who sustained serious injuries have been referred to Ambikapur for better medical care, his post read.

Published – October 22, 2026 07:54 pm IST