Sagar: Four bomb squad constables from Morena died, and another officer suffered serious injuries when their vehicle smashed into a container truck in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district on Wednesday, an official reported.

The crash occurred around 4 a.m. on National Highway-44 between Bandri and Malthone, when the bomb detection and disposal squad's vehicle collided head-on with a truck parked incorrectly on the highway, Bandri police station in-charge Sumer Jagat stated.

The severe impact mangled the police vehicle, killing four personnel instantly: constables Pradhuman Dixit and Aman Kaurav, driver Paramlal Tomar, all from Morena, and dog master Vinod Sharma from Bhind.

Constable Rajiv Chauhan sustained critical injuries and was rushed to Bansal Hospital in Bhopal, where his condition remained serious. The squad's dog escaped unharmed.

Prima facie, it seems the police vehicle's driver lost control of the wheels, which led to the accident, the official said.

Local authorities and police responded promptly to initiate rescue efforts. Preliminary findings suggest the police driver lost control, prompting a case registration and manhunt for the truck driver, with bodies sent for post-mortem.

With inputs from PTI