14 killed, over 50 injured after truck hits parked buses in India's Madhya Pradesh

NEW DELHI, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- At least 14 people were killed and over 50 others injured when a moving truck hit three buses parked on the roadside in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, police said Saturday.

The accident took place late Friday night in Sidhi district, about 610 km northeast of Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh.

According to the police, a cement-laden truck lost control after one of its tyres burst and hit three buses parked on the side of a road, leaving at least eight people dead on the spot while six others succumbed during treatment.

"So far 14 deaths have been confirmed in the accident and 56 people were injured," a senior police official in Mukesh Srivastava told the media.

The police said a majority of the injured people were undergoing treatment at Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in the adjacent Rewa district.

According to officials, the victims had gone to attend a rally addressed by India's federal home minister Amit Shah and were returning to their homes.

An investigation has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced a compensation of 12,060 U.S. dollars to each family that lost a member in the accident.

Deadly road accidents are common in India due to overloading, bad condition of roads and reckless driving.

Around 150,000 people are killed every year in about half a million road accidents across India, officials said.