Student from Kerala killed in pile-up in Punjab’s Phagwara

20-year-old motorcyclist dies on the spot, while friend riding pillion suffers multiple injuries after ramming into vehicles that had collided on Jalandhar-Ludhiana highway.

Asmir Rauf, a 20-year-old student from Kerala, was killed, while his friend and another commuter suffered serious injuries in a pileup of vehicles on the Jalandhar-Ludhiana national highway near Chaheru village of Phagwara early on Monday.

The vehicles that caught fire after the collision near Chaheru village of Phagwara on the Jalandhar-Ludhiana national highway early on Monday.

Police said the incident occurred around 12.30am when two SUVs collided and one of them went on to ram into the truck moving ahead, leading to an explosion.

Investigating officer Kirpal Singh said both the SUVs caught fire within seconds after its occupants were rescued by passers-by. “As the occupants were being rescued, a speeding motorcycle smashed into one of the vehicles and caught fire, too,” he said.

Rauf, a student of Lovely Professional University, was riding the motorcycle and headed to the varsity along with his friend on the pillion. He died on the spot, while his friend was rushed to the Civil Hospital in Jalandhar from where he was referred to another hospital.

Both the students belonged to Kerala and were studying airport management at the university.

The police said an SUV occupant suffered burns in the mishap and was undergoing treatment.