E-Paper
14 migrant workers, a yr-old infant crushed by truck in Surat
The incident took place near Kosamba village, around 60 km from Surat, when the truck driver apparently lost control over the vehicle after hitting a sugarcane laden tractor. The deceased included six men, eight women and a baby girl.
At least 15 persons, mostly migrant labourers and including a year-old girl from Rajasthan, who were sleeping by the roadside were killed after a dumper truck ran over them on Tuesday, police said.
While 12 of them died on the spot, three succumbed to injuries in the hospital, police added. The deceased included six men, eight women and the baby girl.
Expressing grief over the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs.2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for the next of kin of each of the deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured.
“The loss of lives due to a truck accident in Surat is tragic. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. Praying that the injured recover at the earliest,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) tweeted.
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani also announced a compensation of Rs.2 lakh to the kin of each deceased.
The incident took place near Kosamba village, around 60 km from Surat, when the truck driver apparently lost control over the vehicle after hitting a sugarcane laden tractor.
The truck ran over the construction workers on the Kim-Mandvi road shortly after midnight, Surat SP Usha Rada said, news agency PTI reported.
“The truck was on its way to Mandvi from Kim. The driver lost control of the vehicle after it hit sugarcane hanging out of the tractor trolley coming from the opposite direction,” she said.
“The truck’s front window pane shattered on impact, which blocked the driver’s vision. The truck then veered off the road and crashed into the sleeping labourers,” she added.
The driver, who sustained injuries and is undergoing treatment, has been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Motor Vehicles Act, police said.
Besides the driver, the vehicle’s ‘cleaner’ was also injured in the accident.
