Tragedy in Chhattisgarh: Car Plunges Off Bridge, Killing Two

A devastating accident claimed the lives of two men and injured three others when their car plummeted 25 feet off a bridge into the Sargi rivulet in Chhattisgarh’s Gariaband district on Monday morning. The victims, residents of Sarangarh-Bilaigarh district, were en route to the Bhuteshwarnath Temple for prayers during the auspicious Sawan month when the tragedy struck under Fingeshwar police station limits, police confirmed.

The crash, reported at approximately 9:30 a.m., was triggered by a tyre burst that caused the driver to lose control, according to Sub-Inspector Rakesh Sharma of Fingeshwar police. The vehicle, a Maruti Swift, veered off the narrow bridge and plunged into the shallow waters of the Sargi rivulet.

Locals rushed to the scene, alerting authorities, who retrieved the victims with assistance from a crane to lift the wreckage. Lokesh Sahu, 28, and Pankaj Das, 32, were pronounced dead at the scene, while the three injured passengers—whose identities remain undisclosed—were rushed to Gariaband District Hospital. “Their condition is stable, but they are being shifted to Raipur’s Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Hospital for advanced treatment,” Sharma said.

The incident adds to a string of road accidents in Chhattisgarh, raising concerns about infrastructure safety in rural areas. The bridge, a 15-year-old structure on the Gariaband-Rajim road, has no guardrails, a factor locals claim contributed to the accident. “We’ve been demanding repairs for years,” said villager Sanjay Yadav. A March 2025 accident on the same highway killed three when a speeding car hit motorbikes, highlighting recurring safety issues. Police data from 2024–2025 reports 1,237 road accident deaths in Chhattisgarh, with 42% linked to poor road conditions or vehicle maintenance.

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Social media posts on X, using hashtags like #ChhattisgarhAccident and #RoadSafety, expressed grief and frustration, with users calling for better infrastructure and stricter vehicle checks. One post read, “Another tragedy on unsafe roads. When will the government act?” Authorities have registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for rash driving and are investigating the vehicle’s maintenance history. The families of Sahu and Das, both laborers, have been informed, and post-mortems are underway. The incident underscores the urgent need for road safety reforms in Chhattisgarh’s remote districts.

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