Bhatapara: In a tragic incident, at least 11 people including four children of the same family were killed, and several others were injured after a pickup van collided head on with a truck in Chhattisgarh's Baloda Bazaar-Bhatapara district, officials said on Friday. The incident took place late on Thursday night.
According to official sources, all the people traveling in the pickup truck were relatives of the same family who were returning from Arjuni village after attending a family function to Khilora village. Three critically injured were referred to Raipur for their treatment, they added.
Upon receiving the information about the accident, the police officials rushed to the spot and launched the rescue operations. All the passengers were taken out of the pickup. The bodies were sent for postmortem and the injured were taken to the hospital, sources said.
Sitaram Sahu, an eyewitness said there were nearly 15-20 people in the pickup. They met with an accident near Khamaria. When we got to know about the accident, we rushed the injured to the hospital. Those who suffered minor injuries were taken to the district hospital for treatment, Sitaram, who were among the first responders, said.
Driver missing- Baloda Bazar-Bhatapara Superintendent of Police Deepak Kumar Jha said eleven persons, including four children, died in the incident while 12 others sustained injuries, and two of them are critical. The two critically-injured persons were shifted to a hospital in capital Raipur while 10 others were admitted to Balodabazar district hospital, PTI quoted the SP as saying.
The bodies have been sent for post-mortem. Efforts are on to trace the truck driver who fled from the spot leaving behind his vehicle, the SP said. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has expressed grief over the incident and directed the district administration officials to provide all possible assistance to the kin of the deceased and best medical care to the injured.
Sources said the District Collector Rajat Bansal and the SP Deepak Kumar Jha were closely following the developments in the incident. It is likely that Bansal who is also the District Magistrate will recommend the government to consider for disbursal of solatium for the kin of the deceased from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.
The revenue officials and the police officials are at present monitoring the injured. They were also coordinating with the families and the hospital to ensure that the postmortem examinations are carried out in a swift manner and the bodies are handed over to the family. (with PTI inputs)
