Six persons were killed, and 40 others sustained injuries after a tractor-trolley they were travelling in overturned in Madhya Pradesh's Anuppur district, police said on Saturday.

The accident occurred near Bijaura village, under the Karanpathar police station, on Friday evening, an official said.

Around 50 people were travelling in the tractor-trolley when it overturned after the driver lost control, Additional Superintendent of Police Jagannath Markam said.

The victims were travelling from Padmania to Bijaura village for a puja, he said.

Two persons died on the spot while four others succumbed to their injuries during treatment, the official said, adding that the injured were undergoing treatment at the Pali community health centre and the medical college in Umaria district.

Chief minister Mohan Yadav on Saturday expressed grief over the incident, saying, "The news of the untimely death and injury of people in a road accident in Bijaura village, caused by the overturning of a tractor-trolley carrying devotees to a temple, is extremely saddening. My condolences are with the bereaved families." The state government has announced an assistance of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the deceased.