Tractor-Trolley Mishap Leaves 28 Tendu Leaf Workers Injured, 13 Critical In MP's Sheopur

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Around 28 labourers, including several women, were injured after an overloaded tractor-trolley carrying tendu leaf workers overturned in a forest area of Madhya pradesh's Sheopur on Sunday afternoon.

13 of the injured sustained serious injuries and were admitted to the district hospital. All the injured are residents of Kerka village.

The accident occurred in the forest located near the border of Bhojka-Dhawa and Panar villages in the Awada area.

According to information, nearly 40 male and female labourers from Kerka village had left early in the morning, around 4 am, in a tractor-trailer to collect tendu leaves from the forest.

After working for several hours in the scorching heat, the labourers boarded the vehicle to return home.

However, while passing through the forest route, the tractor driver allegedly took a sharp turn at high speed with the overloaded trolley, causing its wheels to lift on one side before the vehicle overturned.

Panic and chaos erupted at the spot as labourers trapped inside the trolley screamed for help. Eyewitnesses said almost every passenger sustained injuries in the mishap.

The injured somehow managed to reach the roadside and informed the 108 ambulance service, following which the seriously injured were shifted to the district hospital.

Among those admitted to hospital are Madan Adivasi, Jaya, Barfi, Rewa, Halki, Kaushalya, Golo Bai, Kiran, Guddu, Laxmi, Yashoda, Mewa and Dayal Adivasi.

Sarwan Adivasi, who suffered minor injuries, said the trolley could have turned completely upside down, resulting in massive casualties. “A large tree stopped the trolley while it was overturning. Otherwise, nobody would have survived,” he said.

Due to the sudden influx of injured patients, doctors at the district hospital were forced to accommodate two patients on a single bed initially before arrangements were streamlined.

Civil Surgeon Dr RB Goyal said all injured persons received immediate treatment and none of them was in critical condition.