6 of family die as ambulance hits truck in Bareilly

BAREILLY: An ambulance carrying a patient and five members of his family crashed into a Canter truck coming from the opposite direction as the driver 'possibly' dozed off in UP's Bareilly early on Tuesday. All seven in the vehicle, including the driver, died on the spot. The ambulance turned into a heap of metal due to the impact, and it took police two hours to take the bodies out.
Additional SP (rural) Rajkumar Agarwal said the victims belonged to Pilibhit and were heading towards a private medical college in Bareilly after a check-up of the patient, afflicted with cancer, at AIIMS Delhi.
"They started late on Monday and the driver fell asleep on the wheel near Fatehganj West area on Delhi-Lucknow national highway. The ambulance jumped the divider and crashed into the Canter truck coming from the opposite direction. Three of the victims were women," said the ASP.
All the seven deceased belonged to Pahadganj village under Bilsanda police station in Pilibhit. The victims include Mohammad Khursheed (50), his wife Sameeran (45), son Arif (19), daughter Nasreen (23), sister Sageer Bano (53), nephew Mohammed Zafar (20) and ambulance driver Mehandi Hasan (32). According to the police and locals, Samiran was suffering from gall-bladder cancer. She was taken to AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) Delhi but as she could not be admitted here.
According to a relative, the family had hired an ambulance from Bareilly on Monday and its driver was Mehandi Hasan, a resident of Bhojipura area of Bareilly. Hasan was driving non-stop for the past 24 hours as he took the patient to Delhi and then was returning to Bareilly without a break.
An eyewitness said, “The collision between the ambulance and the Canter truck was massive and by the time we approached the vehicle, the driver and four people had already died while two persons died within a few minutes after the rescue operation was initiated. The ASP said, “The bodies were sent for autopsy and will be handed over to the relatives. Police will provide all the possible support to the surviving members of the family.” (With inputs from Keshav Agarwal)