Fifteen migrant labourers, sleeping by the roadside, were crushed to death after a dumper ran over them in Gujarat’s Surat district on Tuesday morning. The driver allegedly lost control of the vehicle after it hit sugarcane hanging out of a tractor coming from the opposite direction.
While 12 persons, including a one-year-old girl, died on the spot, three of the nine injured died in a nearby hospital, police said, adding that all those killed hailed from Rajasthan. The dumper driver and cleaner are among the six injured who are admitted to a hospital in Surat.
The incident took place early this morning near Kosamba village, around 60 km from Surat.
Surat rural Kosamba police lodged a complaint in this connection against the dumper driver and started a probe.
Surat district Deputy Superintendent of Police C M Jadeja said, “The dumper driver lost control over steering after his vehicle had slightly hit a tractor loaded with sugarcanes and dumper ran over on footpath where labourers were sleeping, causing the tragic incident. The dumper driver and cleaner are injured and they are under treatment at the SMIMER hospital. We have lodged an offence into the incident and have started the probe.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief at the incident and his office tweeted: “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.” PM Modi declared a Rs 2 lakh compensation from the PMNRF each to the next of kin of those who died and Rs 50,000 to those injured. ( Indian Express )
