The truck driver lost control over his vehicle after dashing against the tractor and veered off the road onto the pavement where the workers were sleeping.
Fifteen migrant labourers from Rajasthan sleeping by the roadside in Gujarat’s Surat district died on Tuesday as a truck ran them over, police said.
The tragedy took place near Kosamba village, around 60 km from Surat, police said. The truck driver, who apparently lost control over the vehicle after hitting a sugarcane-laden tractor, has been detained.
PM Modi tweeted his condolences, writing,
The loss of lives due to a truck accident in Surat is tragic. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. Praying that the injured recover at the earliest: PM @narendramodi
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) January 19, 2021
The truck ran the migrant construction workers over on the Kim-Mandvi road shortly after midnight, Surat SP Usha Rada said.
The truck driver lost control over his vehicle after dashing against the tractor and veered off the road onto the pavement where the workers were sleeping, she said.
“The truck was on its way to Mandvi from Kim. The driver lost control of the vehicle after it hit sugarcane hanging out of the tractor-trolley coming from the opposite direction. The truck’s front window pane shattered on impact, which blocked the driver’s vision. The truck then veered off the road and crashed into the sleeping labourers,” she said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund would be given to the next of kin of each person killed in the accident and Rs 50,000 would be given to each injured.
Ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to the accident in Surat. Rs. 50,000 each would be given to those injured.
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) January 19, 2021
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