Ludhiana: Two Vaishno Devi pilgrims killed after truck rams into car near Khanna

According to family members, Amardeep Verma (32) and his friend Vicky (25) were changing the tyre on the roadside around dawn, while an eight-year-old child stood nearby. The family was travelling together, with members in a second car parked nearby

A pilgrimage to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine turned tragic early on Saturday when two persons were killed and an eight-year-old child was critically injured after a speeding truck rammed into a car on the GT Road near Khanna.

The incident took place when one of the cars developed a flat tyre, following which the family stopped on the roadside to replace it. (HT Photo)

The victims were part of a family from Muradnagar in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad district, travelling in two vehicles en route to the shrine. The incident took place when one of the cars developed a flat tyre, following which the family stopped on the roadside to replace it.

According to family members, Amardeep Verma (32) and his friend Vicky (25) were changing the tyre on the roadside around dawn, while an eight-year-old child stood nearby. The family was travelling together, with members in a second car parked nearby.

Monika, sister of victim Amardeep, said she was travelling in another vehicle when the accident occurred. She said the group had stopped briefly due to the tyre puncture when the tragedy unfolded.

At that moment, a speeding truck came from behind and hit the trio, running over the two men and the child. Amardeep and Vicky died on the spot, while the child suffered critical injuries.

Police teams reached the spot soon after the incident and shifted the bodies for postmortem. The damaged vehicles were removed from the busy GT Road to restore traffic flow.

The truck driver fled the scene immediately after the accident. Police have registered a case against an unidentified driver and are scanning CCTV footage from nearby locations to trace the vehicle.

Preliminary investigation suggests overspeeding may have caused the fatal crash, officials said.