Agwar Lopon (Jagraon): A man was killed and 14 others injured, six of them critically, after their bus ran into a stationary truck on fog-wrapped Ludhiana-Ferozepur national highway, near Begampura Gurdwara, on Wednesday morning.
The deceased has been identified as Rajinder Singh of Fatehgarh Sahib district and the injured as Desh Raj of Rae Bareli, who was going from Ludhiana to Jalalabad; Blaiser of Bihar, who was travelling to Kotla Mehar Singh Wala; Pramod of Uttarakhand; Rajesh Kumar of Faridkot; Jaspal Singh of Amritsar; Avinash Kumar of Himachal Pradesh, who was going from Ludhiana to Abohar; Hiralal, Bindesh Kumar, Shivam, Mukesh Kumar, all four of Uttar Pradesh; Sandeep Lal of Kharar, Rachna, Jotjit Kaur, Ashraf and two unidentified persons.
Police said of the injured, Rachna, Jotjit, Ashraf, Avinash Kumar and two unidentified persons were referred from Jagraon civil hospital to a Ludhiana hospital.
Gurpreet Singh, an area resident, said, “The truck loaded with sand was parked at the roadside. The bus, which was carrying about 50 passengers, collided with it after crossing Begampura Gurdwara. The visibility was poor when the accident took place around 7am.”
A passerby said the truck driver had lit up a bonfire at the roadside after his vehicle broke down. “He was repairing the truck. As the visibility was low, the private bus, which was on way to Sri Ganganagar, perhaps could not see the truck and rammed into it. The bus dragged the truck to a distance and threw it off the road before turning turtle,” the passerby added.
“The bus was being driven at about 100 kilometres per hour. As it was speeding, its driver could not jam on the brakes on time,” Gurpreet added.
The loud collision brought the area residents to the spot.
“We were sitting at home when we heard a loud bang. We rushed to the spot and were shocked to see the accident. We called more residents of the area to the site to help us rescue the passengers. In the meantime, devotees from the neighbouring gurdwara too reached here. Some of them called up the police and ambulances,” said Gurmail Singh, 55, near whose house the accident took place.
Onlookers said the bus had to be cut to bring the passengers out. “We do not know whether the truck driver who was repairing his vehicle was injured or escaped unhurt,” said another resident of the area.
Jagraon city police station SHO inspector Jagjit Singh said, “Six of the injured have received critical injuries and have been referred to a Ludhiana hospital.”
A case of causing death due to negligence has been registered against the truck driver, who is yet to be identified.
Killer stretch
This stretch of Ludhiana-Ferozepur national highway is notorious for accidents and witnesses many a crash especially on foggy days
The deceased has been identified as Rajinder Singh of Fatehgarh Sahib district and the injured as Desh Raj of Rae Bareli, who was going from Ludhiana to Jalalabad; Blaiser of Bihar, who was travelling to Kotla Mehar Singh Wala; Pramod of Uttarakhand; Rajesh Kumar of Faridkot; Jaspal Singh of Amritsar; Avinash Kumar of Himachal Pradesh, who was going from Ludhiana to Abohar; Hiralal, Bindesh Kumar, Shivam, Mukesh Kumar, all four of Uttar Pradesh; Sandeep Lal of Kharar, Rachna, Jotjit Kaur, Ashraf and two unidentified persons.
Police said of the injured, Rachna, Jotjit, Ashraf, Avinash Kumar and two unidentified persons were referred from Jagraon civil hospital to a Ludhiana hospital.
Gurpreet Singh, an area resident, said, “The truck loaded with sand was parked at the roadside. The bus, which was carrying about 50 passengers, collided with it after crossing Begampura Gurdwara. The visibility was poor when the accident took place around 7am.”
A passerby said the truck driver had lit up a bonfire at the roadside after his vehicle broke down. “He was repairing the truck. As the visibility was low, the private bus, which was on way to Sri Ganganagar, perhaps could not see the truck and rammed into it. The bus dragged the truck to a distance and threw it off the road before turning turtle,” the passerby added.
“The bus was being driven at about 100 kilometres per hour. As it was speeding, its driver could not jam on the brakes on time,” Gurpreet added.
The loud collision brought the area residents to the spot.
“We were sitting at home when we heard a loud bang. We rushed to the spot and were shocked to see the accident. We called more residents of the area to the site to help us rescue the passengers. In the meantime, devotees from the neighbouring gurdwara too reached here. Some of them called up the police and ambulances,” said Gurmail Singh, 55, near whose house the accident took place.
Onlookers said the bus had to be cut to bring the passengers out. “We do not know whether the truck driver who was repairing his vehicle was injured or escaped unhurt,” said another resident of the area.
Jagraon city police station SHO inspector Jagjit Singh said, “Six of the injured have received critical injuries and have been referred to a Ludhiana hospital.”
A case of causing death due to negligence has been registered against the truck driver, who is yet to be identified.
Killer stretch
This stretch of Ludhiana-Ferozepur national highway is notorious for accidents and witnesses many a crash especially on foggy days
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