At least six persons were killed while 14 others got injured after a pick-up van carrying pilgrims rammed into a truck parked illegally on the roadside of the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway near Maheshpur village in Palwal early Tuesday, police said.
The injured victims are undergoing treatment at civil hospital in Palwal. Inspector Hari Kishan, station house officer (SHO) of Palwal Sadar police station, said the accident took place around 5:30am on Tuesday. Police officials said at least 20 residents of Kishanpur Muraiya, Makoaya, Chanda and neighbouring villages in Uttar Pradesh’s Mainpuri district had left for a pilgrimage after hiring the van and converting its rear section into two decks for sleeping.
The deceased were identified as Vijay Singh, Raj Kumar, Reshma Devi, Kamla Devi, Sudha and Mahesh, police said. A senior police officer said that the impact of the collision was so intense that the Bolero was wrecked and several of the pilgrims were trapped inside it. “Soon, multiple emergency response vehicles, police and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) patrol teams and ambulances were pressed into action for the rescue work,” he said, adding some of the injured pilgrims were in critical condition and may be shifted to other hospitals for better treatment.
