Jodhpur: At least 15 people were killed and three others injured after a tempo traveller crashed into a parked truck on the Bharat Mala Expressway in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur on Sunday night.
The victims were returning to Jodhpur after visiting the Kolayat temple in Bikaner, informed Phalodi Superintendent of Police Kundan Kanwaria. All of them were residents of Jodhpur’s Phalodi area.
According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Achal Singh Deora, the speeding tempo traveller rammed into a stationary truck on the roadside. Such was the impact that it left the vehicle completely mangled, trapping several passengers inside the wreckage.
Local residents and motorists passing by were the first to respond as they tried to retrieve the bodies and assist the injured.
Police personnel and rescue teams soon arrived at the spot. Rescue and relief operations continued late into the night as authorities did their best to identify the victims and inform their families.
“The bodies were stuck in the seats due to the force of the collision. We faced great difficulty in removing them,” said Phalodi Police Station Officer Amanaram.
Condoling the ‘deeply tragic and heartbreaking terrible accident’, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma said district administration officials have been instructed to ensure proper treatment for all the injured.
In another terrible road tragedy in Rajasthan last month, 26 people were burnt alive when a sleeper bus caught fire near Jaisalmer.
Ten days ago, 20 passengers travelling in a luxury bus from Hyderabad to Bengaluru were charred to death when the vehicle caught fire in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool. An Odisha youth was among the victims.