Six people were killed on Tuesday when the car in which they were travelling collided head on with a fuel tanker coming from the opposite direction in Kurud area of Dhamtari district, police said.
The accident occurred around 11:30 am on Dhamtari-Raipur road when the victims were returning after visiting Gangrel Dam here in their Wagon R car, said Vipin Lakra, Station House Officer (SHO) Kurud.
"Five people died instantly. A sixth occupant died in hospital. They are residents of Baikunthpur in Korea district," he said.
The deceased were identified as Parikshit Pal, Subham Trivedi, Raja Sarkar, Pranjal Gupta, Abhishek Jaiswal and Sahil Kureshi, all aged between 36 and 40 years.
The errant truck driver was arrested. He was identified as Nehru Lal (52) a resident of Rudri has been arrested. He has been booked under Section 304(a) of Indian Penal Code (IPC). The case is under investigation, police said.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel expressed grief at the loss of lives.