Jaipur/Kota, Oct. 18 -- Eight people were killed and 17 others injured after a passenger van carrying pilgrims from Madhya Pradesh to Rajasthan's Khatu Shyam temple rammed into a road divider and plunged nearly 20 feet into a seasonal drain along the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Kota district on Saturday morning, police said. Police officers said the van, a tempo traveller, was carrying around 25 passengers, most of whom were residents of Betul district in Madhya Pradesh. They had left Betul on Friday night to visit the Khatu Shyam temple in Reengus town in Sikar district. Seemliya station house officer Nand Singh said the vehicle had crossed the Karadiya toll plaza and was heading towards Sultanpur when the driver lost control between 6 am and 7 am. "The vehicle hit the divider, plunged into the drain and crashed into a wall. The driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel, although the exact cause of the accident is yet to be established," he said, adding that four passengers died on the spot, while four others succumbed to their injuries en route to the hospital. Meanwhile, the NHAI, in a statement posted on its official X handle, attributed the accident to suspected driver fatigue and excessive speed. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav directed officials to provide an aid of Rs.4 lakh each to the kin.htc...