hree residents of Madhya Pradesh died and as many others are missing after their Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) was swept away from a flooded bridge in Maharashtra's Nagpur district on Tuesday, police said.
The deceased were residents of Betul district in MP.
The incident occurred in Nanda Gomukh village under the Kelwad police station limits, some 40 km from the Nagpur district headquarters, in the afternoon, an official said.
"The SUV with eight passengers was crossing a bridge that did not have railings on either side. The water flowing above the bridge swept away the vehicle. While two passengers swam to safety, we have recovered bodies of three persons and three others are missing," the official said.
Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the state government will give Rs 4 lakh to the kin of the each deceased person.
Fadnavis tweeted about the incident from his official handle @Dev_Fadnavis.
"I am extremely sad to learn about a vehicle falling off a bridge and its occupants being swept away in flood water. I was also informed that some of them have died," he tweeted.
He said a search operation is on to trace the missing persons with the help of the National Disaster Response Force.
The deceased have been identified as Roshni Chaukidar (32), Darsh Chaukidar (10) and SUV driver Liladhar Hiware (38), all residents of Zingabai Takali, officials said.
The missing persons are Madhukar Patil (65), his wife Nirmala (60) and Neemu Aatner (45), all hailing from Betul in neighbouring Madhya Pardesh.
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"The vehicle was going from Multai in Madhya Pradesh to Chhatrapur village in Nanda here. A team comprising police and fire brigade personnel is carrying out a search operation," the Kelwad police station official said.