Truck-pickup collision in Bhandara kills 9 labourers on Pola festival day
Nine labourers died and five were injured when their pickup rammed a truck on NH-53 in Bhandara district early Friday
A major road accident occurred around 4 am on Friday on the Nagpur-Raipur National Highway (NH-53) in Lakhani tehsil of Bhandara district, killing nine labourers on the spot and leaving five others seriously injured. The accident took place near Bhau Dhaba, close to Pimplgaon/Sadak village, at the same time as the Pola festival was being celebrated in the area.
According to eyewitnesses, a truck was heading towards Nagpur after filling diesel at a nearby petrol pump. A pickup carrying labourers, coming from behind at high speed, went out of control and rammed straight into the rear of the truck. The collision was so severe that people nearby were shaken. The pickup was badly damaged, and the labourers riding in it were trapped in its mangled frame.
A total of 14 labourers were travelling in the pickup. Several of them died on the spot, while one labourer died during treatment. The dead are reported to include women, children and men among the labourers. Both the dead and the injured are residents of Chhattisgarh who were travelling towards Nagpur in search of work.
On receiving news of the accident, National Highway police and villagers from the surrounding area rushed to the spot. The rescue team had to work hard to pull the injured out of the pickup, which had been reduced to wreckage. The seriously injured labourers were immediately admitted to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMC) in Bhandara, where their condition is said to be critical.
The accident occurred on the morning of the Pola festival, and when the news reached the families of the labourers, it brought mourning into their homes. Questions have been raised over safety arrangements on the highway, as there is no speed radar in place. People are asking why the surveillance system meant to monitor vehicles speeding on the highway in the early hours remained lax, and why safety standards and warning boards for heavy vehicles passing near petrol pumps and eateries are not being enforced.
Police have seized both vehicles and begun a preliminary investigation. The accident, which struck migrant labourers who had set out to earn a living on a festival day, has shaken the entire area.
