Nine migrant labourers were killed on Tuesday when the truck carrying them overturned in an attempt to avert a head-on collision with a bus in Bihar's Bhagalpur district, police said. The incident took place around 6 am on National Highway-31 near Ambho Chowk, Naugachhia Superintendent of Police Nidhi Rani said.

The workers, all males, had started their journey on bicycles six days ago from Kolkata and they might have boarded the truck somewhere en route, the officer said. The driver and cleaner of the truck, which was coming from West Bengal via Katihar district in Bihar, fled from the spot, she said. Identities of some of the labourers have been ascertained from official documents, Rani said, adding that they hailed from East and West Champaran districts.

Some of the passengers of the bus, which was on its way to Banka from Darbhanga, received minor injuries and were administered first aid at a nearby hospital, she said. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed grief over the incident and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh for the kin of each of the victims, an official release said. He also appealed to people not to travel on foot or on railway tracks.

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