Khandwa (MP): Ten persons, including four boys, were killed and 15 injured, two of them seriously, when a vehicle ferrying people from a Navratri function collided with a truck on Indore-Icchapur Highway near Chhaigaon Makhan town in the wee hours today, police said.

The deceased included six men and four boys, said Khandwa SP Manoj Sharma.

“A wheat-laden truck that was on its way to Hyderabad from Ujjain collided at around 3:45 AM with the pick-up truck which was ferrying the victims back home after they had taken part in ‘garba' during the ongoing Navratri festival,” Sharma said, adding that the victims belonged to Kedala Jagir village in Khargone district.

He said that the injured were referred to Khandwa district hospital.

The deceased are identified as Deependra (19), Mangal (20), Vijay (25), Sunil (18), Ravish (20), Ravi (35) and Mangilal (17), Rohit (12), Ajay (17) and Govind (15). “Two persons among the injured are in serious condition and are referred to Indore,” the SP said.

Kandwa district collector Mahesh Agrawal said that the state chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced an ex-gratia of Rs one lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased persons and Rs 50,000 to the injured.

The driver of the truck fled from the spot after the mishap and a case has been registered in this regard, police said.