Indian minister dies in car accident

India’s new minister of rural development has been killed in a car accident just eight days after being appointed to the position.

The car accident happened in the capital, New Delhi, on Tuesday, when Minister Gopinath Munde was on his way to the airport to take a flight to Maharashtra State.

“An accident took place earlier in the morning, following which he was taken to the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. Doctors declared him dead at about 8 am,” Nitin Gadkari, India’s transport minister, said on Tuesday.

Sixty four-year-old Munde was appointed to the position just eight days ago.

India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his grief over the accident, calling it a “major loss” for the country. “Extremely saddened and shocked by the demise of my friend and colleague Gopinath Munde. His demise is a major loss for the nation and the government,” Modi wrote on his twitter page.

According to reports, India has one of the most dangerous roads in the world. Road accidents claimed 140,000 lives in 2012.