At least 14 people were killed and nine injured in two separate road accidents in Nanded and Bhandara districts of Maharashtra, with both crashes involving heavy vehicles.

In Nanded, six people were killed and five injured after a Tata Magic passenger vehicle collided head-on with a truck at Sitakhandi Ghat on the Nanded-Bhokar road. The injured were taken to hospitals in Bhokar and Nanded.

In Bhandara, eight people, including three children, were killed and four seriously injured after a pickup vehicle carrying workers collided with a truck on the Nagpur-Raipur National Highway near Pimpalgaon in Lakhni taluka.

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The accident took place near Pimpalgaon in Lakhni taluka on Lakhni Sakoli Highway, near the Motghare petrol pump and a roadside dhaba. According to preliminary information, the pickup van was carrying labourers from Chhattisgarh who were travelling towards Nagpur.

District Disaster Management Officials said the driver of the pickup van may have dozed off, following which the vehicle rammed into the rear of the truck. The impact was so severe that the pickup van had to be separated from the truck with the help of a JCB.

Eight occupants of the pickup van died on the spot. While four patients have been referred to Government Medical College in Nagpur, one patient has been admitted to a hospital in Bhandara, and three more are being referred to Nagpur, officials said.

Residents, police personnel, and emergency responders rushed to the spot after receiving information about the accident. The bodies were removed from the mangled vehicle, and further procedures are underway.

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The highway police are investigating the circumstances leading to the accident.