Raj Sadosh
Abohar, June 18

Four members of a family, who were returning to Nokha in Rajasthan after mourning the demise of a relative in Hanumangarh, died while seven were injured when a truck reportedly collided with their van on Friday morning on National Highway 62.

A couple is among the dead and children among the injured. The condition of two of the injured, including a boy, is said to be critical. All the injured were under treatment in the PBM Hospital in Bikaner.

According to the Jamsar police station, the deceased were identified as Prabhu Ram Rao (39), his wife Saroj (33), brother Mula Ram alias Bhima Ram (37) and another relative Jagdish Rao (40). Among the injured are Nainu Ram (78), Tijan Devi (35), Hem Singh (23), Anjali (12), Bhumika (6), Mahavir (2) and Yuvraj (7).

Preliminary investigation indicated that the family had gone to Hanumangarh on Tuesday to mourn the death of a relative.

The family left for Nokha late on Thursday and met with an accident at 5 am about 3 km from Jamsar. The truck collided with the van, causing it to blow up. The truck, which was loaded with gravel, overturned after the accident, due to which the traffic on the highway remained blocked for a few hours. 

By the time police reached the spot, bystanders had pulled out all the injured trapped in the van. They were sent to the hospitals in Jamsar and Loonkaransar in different vehicles. Out of them, four people were declared dead. The injured were shifted to Bikaner. The truck driver and conductor fled from the scene.

The police handed over the bodies of the four deceased to the family members after conducting a postmortem. A case of negligence has been registered. A crane was used to put the truck in order.