Car swept into flooded drain near MP temple kills eight; seven victims from one Odisha family
Eight people, including three children and two women, died on Saturday (September 19, 2026) after the car they were travelling in was swept away by a swollen drain in Agar Malwa district of Madhya Pradesh. The group was on its way to visit the Bagalmukhi temple in Nalkheda town.
According to the police, the accident took place in the early hours of Saturday, following heavy rain overnight in Nalkheda.
Agar Malwa Superintendent of Police Dilip Soni said seven of the deceased were members of a family from Odisha who had come to visit the temple. The driver of the vehicle was a resident of the Badod tehsil area. The accident occurred about 50 metres from the temple.
Describing the sequence of events, Mr. Soni said there is a culvert near the temple and the drain beneath it had been overflowing because of the heavy rain. “The driver tried to cross it to reach the temple but may have misjudged the situation, after which the car lost control and got swept away due to strong currents,” he said.
The family had reached Nalkheda after visiting the Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain, the officer said.
Police received information about a submerged car from local residents around 9.30 a.m., after which the bodies were recovered. Mr. Soni said post-mortem examinations have been conducted on all the bodies, and the remains of the victims from Odisha have been dispatched to Bhubaneswar. Inquest proceedings have begun.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed deep sorrow over the deaths. “The State government has instructed the officials concerned to maintain constant coordination with the Madhya Pradesh government and the local administration regarding the incident,” he said.
“All necessary steps are being taken... to bring the mortal remains back to Odisha with due respect. In this hour of grief, the State government stands firmly by the side of the bereaved families,” Mr. Majhi said.
In Bhubaneswar, a pall of gloom descended on the family of Banamali Behera, who lost his son, two daughters, a son-in-law and three grandchildren in the accident. The family, originally from the Gadakana area of Bhubaneswar, ran a roadside eatery at Jayadev Vihar Square, a busy junction in the city.
They were preparing for two happy occasions — a wedding in the family and a move into a new house. Mr. Behera’s daughter Radharani Behera, 30, who was among those who died, was to have her ring ceremony on September 27, after the family returned from the trip. They had begun their journey on September 16.
Former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also expressed grief over the incident in a post on X. “I am deeply saddened to learn about the heartbreaking accident in Madhya Pradesh in which seven Odia devotees lost their lives. On this sorrowful occasion, I convey my deepest condolences to the bereaved family members and pray for the eternal peace of the departed souls,” he wrote.
