Baku, May 20, AZERTACEighteen people, including 17 women, were killed and four others sustained injuries after a pick-up vehicle plunged into a gorge in Kabirdham district in Chhattisgarh, police said on Monday, according to Hindustan Times.The injured persons have been shifted to the hospital for treatment, they added.The accident occurred at around 1.45 pm near Bahpani village under the jurisdiction of Kukdur police station.The victims were returning from a forest after plucking tendu leaves when the vehicle skidded off the road and fell into a gorge.After being alerted, a police team rushed to the spot and launched the rescue exercise, reported PTI."Twelve women and a man were killed on the spot, while nine others sustained injuries and were shifted to a hospital, where five women died," Kabirdham Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava said.Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai condoled the deaths and instructed the district administration to provide the best possible medical assistance to the injured."Learnt about the tragic accident in which 18 villagers died and four were injured after a pickup vehicle overturned near Bahpani village in Kabirdham district. Necessary instructions have been given to the district administration to provide better treatment to the injured. May the departed souls rest in peace, and I express my deepest condolences to their families. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured," Sai said in a post on X.