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Six killed as mini-truck falls into canal near Ludhiana, four missing
Overloaded mini-truck carrying 29 people fell into the swollen Sirhind Canal in Punjab’s Ludhiana district on Sunday night.
Six pilgrims, including two children, were killed and four people are still missing after an overloaded mini-truck carrying 29 people fell into the swollen Sirhind Canal in Punjab’s Ludhiana district on Sunday night, police said on Monday.
The accident occurred near Jagera bridge on the Malerkotla road near Dehlon village at 10pm on Sunday. Rescue operations are underway with four more devotees still missing.
Deputy superintendent of police (DSP, Payal), Hemant Malhotra, said: “Initially, three bodies were recovered. By morning, our teams had located and pulled out three more. The search continues for the remaining missing persons.”
Eyewitnesses alerted the police after which rescue operations were launched with the help of local residents and trained divers. So far, 19 individuals, including driver Gurwinder Singh, 28, have been rescued safely. The driver is being questioned to determine the cause of the tragedy. Police are examining whether the vehicle’s condition, overcrowding, or road condition played a role.
According to the divers, heavy rain and fast flow were hindering the rescue operation.
Ludhiana deputy commissioner Himanshu Jain, senior superintendent of police Jyoti Yadav and local MLA Manvinder Singh Giaspura reached the spot in the morning to oversee the search operation.
The pilgrims were returning to their village, Manakwal, after paying obeisance at the Naina Devi temple in Himachal Pradesh’s Bilaspur district.
Survivors told the police that the driver lost control over the pick-up truck while overtaking another vehicle.
The deceased have been identified as Krishna Kaur, 60, Jarnail Singh, 55, Manjeet Kaur, 58, Sukhman, 1.5 years, Akashdeep Singh, 8, and Kamaljeet Kaur, 25. Those untraced include Kesar Singh, 70, Arshdeep Kaur, 4, Gurpreet Singh, 35, and Mahinder Kaur, 23, all from Manakwal village in Malerkotla.
Village sarpanch Kesar Singh said that a group of villagers had gone to Naina Devi temple to pay obeisance on July 26 and were returning in the pick-up vehicle when the accident occurred.
Some of the injured were referred to Ahmedgarh Mandi, while others were rushed to Ludhiana and Khanna hospitals, he said.
