BHOPAL: At least eight people from Madhya Pradesh's Betul district were killed, and around nine were injured after a tempo traveller veered off the road and fell into a 15-foot-deep drain on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Rajasthan on Saturday morning, police said.

The accident occurred around 6 am near pole number 384 on the Expressway, under Simliya police station limits, in Kota district of the neighbouring state, officials said.

Betul Superintendent of Police Virendra Jain told PTI that the victims were from Ghatbiroli village under Multai police station, around 65 km from the Betul district headquarters.

According to police, eight people were killed in the accident and around nine sustained injuries and are undergoing treatment.

Emergency personnel immediately launched rescue operations, despite the silt and water accumulated inside the drain severely hampering their efforts. Cranes were deployed to retrieve the damaged vehicle and rescue the passengers trapped inside.

Multai police station house officer Vikas Patel said he had visited the bereaved families and informed them about the tragedy, and they will soon leave to collect the bodies.

The victims were related to each other and had left Bhopal around 7 pm on Friday to visit the Khatu Shyam Temple in Sikar district of Rajasthan, police said.

According to Kota Superintendent of Police Sujit Shankar, the group had come to Rajasthan for a four-day tour and was heading to the temple when the accident occurred.

The injured people are being rushed to nearby medical facilities, including New Medical College Hospital and MBS Hospital. Three ambulances have been deployed for quick transportation, Simliya Station House Officer Nand Singh said.