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 (SHO) 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. "According to preliminary information received from the spot, the Traveller was moving at high speed in the overtaking lane when the driver apparently dozed off, causing the vehicle to go out of control and fall off the expressway near Karadia village." Seven of the deceased have been identified as Aruna, Vaishnavi, Trisha, Krishna, Anita, Om Suryavanshi and Raju, while the identity of the eighth victim is yet to be established. Rajasthan chief minister Bhajanlal Sharma expressed grief over the loss of lives. "Instructions have been issued to the concerned authorities to ensure proper treatment for the injured and to provide necessary assistance to those affected," he wrote on X. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav directed officials to provide an aid of Rs.4 lakh each to the kin of the deceased along with all other possible assistance....