One dead, at least 10 injured after two canters collide on KMP Expressway

One person was killed and at least 10 others were injured after a canter, in which labourers from brick kilns were travelling to their native districts, allegedly

One person was killed and at least 10 others were injured after a canter, in which labourers from brick kilns were travelling to their native districts, allegedly collided with another canter on Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway near Pachgaon flyover on Thursday morning.

HT Image

Two among the injured persons, including a canter driver, are undergoing treatment at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi, where their condition is said to be critical, said the police.

According to the police, the incident took place around 5am when a canter, which was carrying at least 25 migrant workers from various brick kilns in Hisar to their respective villages in Banda in Uttar Pradesh(UP), had crossed the toll on KMP Expressway and reached near the dividing road. The police said after a distance of over 100 metres, another canter, which was driving in front of it, abruptly applied brakes, resulting in the accident.

A police official privy to the investigation, requesting anonymity, said, “Since it is the onset of monsoon, migrant workers from brick kilns usually return to their native places till the winter season as there is no work. These workers were returning to Banda in UP from Hisar.”

The police said the cabin of the canter carrying migrant workers, was completely crushed and a crane had to be called in to pull out two injured persons from the mangled remains of the cabin. The helper, Amar Singh, 42, died on the spot while the driver, Naresh, and a woman, Chandavni, who was sitting in the cabin, suffered serious injuries and are reported critical at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. Among the migrant workers, who were sitting in the rear, at least eight people including three women sustained minor injuries and are stable.

The police said the second canter, whose driver had allegedly abruptly applied brakes, escaped from the spot. It is not certain if any occupant in the second canter suffered injuries. A case was registered against the absconding canter driver under sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 304-A (death by negligence) and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code(IPC) at the Bilaspur police station.

On March 29, five persons, including a one-year-old boy, had died while at least ten others were injured after a canter had allegedly rammed into two auto-rickshaws and hit several migrant labourers, near the toll plaza on KMP Expressway near Pachgaon flyover. The deceased and several among the injured were waiting at the toll for a commute to their respective home towns in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana in the wake of a nationwide lockdown.