Eight Killed as Pilgrim Minibus Falls From Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Kota

Eight people were killed early on Saturday, October 17, 2026, when a minibus carrying pilgrims left the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Kota district, Rajasthan, and fell into a culvert. The crash happened at about 6:30 a.m. local time in the Simliya police station area, officials said. The vehicle was travelling from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh to the Khatu Shyam temple, carrying more than 25 passengers.

District Collector Peeyush Samariya said eight people had been brought in dead. He said all patients in critical condition had been moved to intensive care and their treatment had begun, ANI reported. Additional Superintendent of Police Ram Kalyan Meena put the number of injured higher, saying about 15 to 17 people were being treated at the Medical College and MBS Hospital in Kota. Early agency reports gave a lower injury count, and officials said the figures were still being confirmed on Saturday morning.

Driver may have dozed off

The minibus fell about 15 feet from the eight-lane expressway into the culvert below. First reports from officials at the scene suggested the driver may have dozed off at the wheel, but that account is preliminary and has not been confirmed as the cause. The station house officer for the area, Nand Singh, said injured passengers had been admitted to hospital for treatment.

Rescue at the scene

Police and rescue teams reached the site soon after the crash was reported. A crane was used to reach survivors in the damaged vehicle, and the injured were taken to hospitals in Kota, where critical patients were moved into intensive care units. Reports from the scene said the passengers came from several families who knew one another and were travelling together on the pilgrimage. The man who organised the trip was among the injured, according to local reports.

What is still not known

Officials have not released the names of the dead, and no formal cause has been announced. The gap between the first injury counts also shows that the full picture was still forming hours after the crash. Police said further details were awaited. The Orbit Post will update this story when officials confirm the final toll and the condition of the injured.

The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is one of India's newest long-distance highways, and the Bhopal to Khatu Shyam road journey is a route many pilgrim groups make overnight. Saturday's crash is a reminder of how quickly a single moment on a fast road can turn a family pilgrimage into a rescue operation.