As per reports, ten people were killed and four others were critically injured in the accident that took place in the early hours of the day on the Rajnandgaon-Durg road.
They were returning after offering prayers at the Maa Bamleshwari Temple in Dongargarh town during the Navrati festival, a local police official told PTI.
Nine people travelling in the SUV died on the spot while another person succumbed to injuries while being taken to a local hospital, the official said. An injured child is among the survivors of the accident. He has been admitted to a hospital in Rajnandgaon while three other people were shifted to a hospital in Bhilai town after a police team rushed to the spot.
As per preliminary information, when the driver of the sports utility vehicle (SUV) tried to overtake another vehicle, it collided head-on with a truck coming from the opposite direction near Somni village, around 55 km from here, he said.
Efforts were on to trace the truck driver who fled the spot leaving his vehicle there, the official added.
The Rajanandgaon-Durg four lane road is part of the National Highway connecting Mumbai-Kolkata via Raipur and Nagpur. One way of the road has been closed for vehicles between Anjora village bypass in Durg and Rajnandgaon keeping in view the nine days fesrtival of Navratri as pilgrims flock on foot the temple of Maa Bamleshwari.
(With inputs from agencies)