Bhopal, April 10 : Four individuals lost their lives on Thursday when the vehicle they were travelling in plunged off a bridge over a river under the Chargawan police station area of Jabalpur.

Reports indicate that the speeding vehicle's driver suddenly lost control, causing it to crash into the bridge's guard rail before falling into the river.

'The incident occurred around 3.30 to 3.45 p.m. Villagers heard a loud noise and quickly informed the police. A police team arrived at the site, but unfortunately, four of the occupants had died instantly. Two others survived and were rushed to Jabalpur Medical College Hospital. Their condition of the injured is critical, but they are conscious,' stated Abhishek Pyasi, Chargawan police station in-charge, while speaking to IANS.

Interestingly, the occupants of the vehicle were also transporting a male goat.

'Prima facie, it seems they were returning from performing a symbolic offering of the goat to a nearby deity as part of a ritual, as all the occupants were from the same community. Remarkably, the goat survived the accident,' the officer added.

He also noted that the injured passengers were not in a position to provide statements at the time. The police are awaiting the post-mortem reports and survivor statements to obtain a clearer understanding of the incident.

The Chargawan Police Station team promptly arrived at the scene as the location is just 5-7 km from the station.

Together with local residents, they worked to rescue the injured passengers trapped in the wreckage.

Using crowbars, they managed to pry open the frame of the vehicle and extricate the two injured individuals.

The four deceased, all residents of Chowkital village, were identified as Kishan Patel (35), Mahendra Patel (35), Sagar Patel (17), and Rajendra Patel (35).

The critically injured survivors were identified as Manoj Pratap (35) and Jitendra Patel Lodhi (36), also from Chowkital.

'The families of the deceased have been notified, and the bodies have been sent for post-mortem,' Pyasi confirmed.

The bridge where the accident occurred is approximately 45 km from Jabalpur.

/IANS