Daijiworld Media Network - Gwalior/Lucknow
Gwalior/Lucknow, Aug 18: Eight labourers from Uttar Pradesh were killed and several others injured after the pickup vehicle carrying them collided with a dumper truck in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhind district in the early hours of Tuesday.
The accident occurred around 1 a.m. near Chhimaka village in the Gohad area. Preliminary investigations indicate that the speeding pickup driver lost control while attempting to avoid a herd of cows on the highway and collided with an oncoming dumper, officials said.
The impact was severe, leaving the pickup badly mangled. The labourers inside were thrown into panic as they screamed for help.
According to police, all the labourers travelling in the pickup were residents of Lakhimpur Kheri district in Uttar Pradesh. They had travelled to the Gwalior region for paddy transplantation work and were returning home after completing the job.
After receiving information about the accident, a team from Gohad Chauraha police station rushed to the spot. With the help of local villagers, police rescued those trapped inside the mangled vehicle and shifted the injured to Gohad Hospital.
Doctors at the hospital declared eight labourers dead. Those critically injured were given initial treatment before being referred to Gwalior for advanced medical care.
The bodies have been kept in the mortuary while police work to establish the identities of the deceased and inform their families. The administration has also begun arrangements to transport the mortal remains to their home district in Uttar Pradesh.
Expressing deep grief over the deaths, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of the deceased.
Calling the incident deeply distressing, Adityanath said on X that the loss of life in the Bhind accident was “extremely painful and heart-wrenching” and offered his condolences to the bereaved families.
The Chief Minister directed officials to coordinate with the Madhya Pradesh government to ensure that the mortal remains are transported to the victims’ home district and that the injured receive proper medical treatment.