A trailer truck ran over 18 pilgrims, killing 16 on the spot and seriously injuring 13 others, on the Dholka-Bagodara Highway in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
The pilgrims were walking on foot from Jamalpur to the holy shrine of Bhadiyad Pir Dargah in Bhadiyad village at Dholka. They had stopped to rest and were sleeping by the roadside when the accident happened. More than 40 people escaped with minor injuries.
The police said the truck driver lost control of the vehicle after it hit a pillar and damaged the tube of the steering wheel. “The driver was not able to control the truck which was loaded with around 15 tonnes of cement,” said police sub-inspector, Bagodara police station, KB Jhala.
Eyewitness Rajendrasinh Gangad told DNA that there were around 60 people sleeping on the roadside. He added that the truck driver managed to escape.
“We managed to remove a few people from under the truck but later had to call a crane to lift the vehicle so that all the trapped bodies could be taken out,” said Ismail Luckywala, vice-president of the Volunteers of Bhadiyad Pir Urs Committee said. The injured were taken to taken to the Bagodara Health Centre and the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Dholka.
The police have registered a case of rash driving and have started investigations in the case.
