Delhi-Mumbai Expressway accident in Kota leaves eight pilgrims dead after minibus falls into drain

Eight pilgrims were killed and 15 others injured early on Saturday when a minibus carrying devotees plunged into a 15-foot-deep drain along the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Rajasthan's Kota district.

The accident occurred around 6:00 am near pole number 384 on the expressway section in Kota Rural. The vehicle had set out from Bhopal on Friday evening carrying between 23 and 25 passengers from Bhopal and Betul districts in Madhya Pradesh, heading towards the Khatu Shyamji temple in Rajasthan for a pilgrimage.

District administration and emergency services acted swiftly upon receiving news of the crash. Rescuers deployed heavy cranes to pull the vehicle out of the waterlogged drain, where accumulated mud and silt initially hampered extraction efforts. Emergency personnel, assisted by local residents, cleared the site and extricated trapped passengers.

Medical teams across Kota were alerted immediately to receive the victims and administer priority trauma care:

| Facility | Fatalities declared | Injured admitted | Total patients received || NMCH Super Speciality | 7 | 8 | 15 || MBS Hospital | 1 | 7 | 8 |

Kota District Collector Piyush Samariya and Kota Rural Superintendent of Police Sujeet Shankar visited the hospitals to oversee relief efforts and inspect patient care. NMCH Principal Dr Nilesh Jain confirmed that primary stabilization, diagnostic CT scans, and intensive medical interventions were initiated without delay for all incoming victims.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma expressed grief over the loss of lives and directed district authorities to deliver full administrative and medical assistance to the survivors and bereaved families. Preliminary inquiries indicate the driver may have dozed off at the wheel, though a formal investigation by police is ongoing.