Eight killed, 18 injured after a truck collides with auto-rickshaws in Gaya

Seven accident victims were from the Rengania village under the Amas police station and were returning from Aurangabad district’s Deo police station area by the two auto-rickshaws after attending a pre-wedding tilak ceremony in the family.

Eight people, including five of a family, have died and 18 others were injured on Monday morning, when the two auto-rickshaws they were travelling in collided head-on with a speeding truck on the Grand Truck (GT) Road near Vishunganj village under the Amas police station of Bihar’s Gaya district.

The accident occurred at around 7.05am, when the speeding truck tried to overtake a pick-up van and collided with the auto-rickshaws that were coming from the opposite direction, the police said. (File Photo (Representative Image)

Seven accident victims were from the Rengania village under the Amas police station and were returning from Aurangabad district’s Deo police station area by the two auto-rickshaws after attending a pre-wedding tilak ceremony in the family.

The accident occurred at around 7.05am, when the speeding truck tried to overtake a pick-up van and collided with the auto-rickshaws that were coming from the opposite direction, the police said.

All the vehicles were at high speed because of thin traffic in the early morning.

The police and the rescue personnel struggled to pull out the injured passengers from the mangled vehicles, while the victims’ bodies were torn into pieces. The body parts were scattered at the accident site.

Six victims died on the accident spot, while two others succumbed to their injuries later, the police added.

The injured were admitted to Sherghati sub-divisional hospital, Madanpur primary health centre and Amas primary health centre, and many of them are battling for their lives.

Gaya civil surgeon Brajesh Kumar Singh said 15 of the injured have been referred to Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital in Gaya town for better treatment.

Shyam Sundar, an eyewitness, who called an emergency ambulance and also informed the police, said: “It was like a cloud burst. I’ve never seen such an accident. Both the auto-rickshaws crumbled like plastic boxes and blood was splattered all over the accident spot.”

Rajiv Mishra, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Gaya, rushed to the spot along with other police personnel after he was informed about the accident.

“A preliminary inquiry has revealed that the truck driver is responsible for the accident, as he was driving at a high speed,” said Anil Kumar Singh, station house officer (SHO), Amas police station.

The victims were returning after attending the tilak ceremony of the daughters of Mohan Rikishiyan, a resident of Aurangabad district, the SHO added.

Locals protested Gaya district administration’s failure to address the high number of accidents that regularly occur in the area because of a “blind spot”. They also blocked the movement of vehicles on the GT Road and demanded adequate compensation from the state government for the next of the kin of the accident victims.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has offered his condolences for the accident victims and also instructed the officials to ensure the best possible healthcare services for all the injured.