Eight people, including a child and two women, were killed and 15 injured when a truck and a private bus collided head-on on the Amritsar-Pathnakot highway, 15 kms from here. The bus was heading towards Amritsar from Gurdaspur and the truck was on way to Batala from Amritsar when the head-on collision occurred near village Sohia Khurd.
The drivers of both the vehicles were among the dead, SHO of Kamboj Police Station, Ayadwinder Singh said. The driver of the truck was driving the vehicle at a high speed, the SHO said. Police struggled hard to extricate the bodies as both the vehicles were reduced to mangled heap of metal, he said. Iron cutters were used and the bodies were pulled out. The injured were hospitalised.
Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal expressed deep shock and anguish over the accident. Sharing his heartfelt sympathies with the members of the bereaved families, the Chief Minister prayed to the Almighty to give them courage to bear huge loss in this hour of crisis and grant peace to the departed souls. Chief Minister also announced an ex -gratia grant of Rs one lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased and free medical treatment to the injured in the government hospitals. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal and Revenue and Public Relations Minister Bikram Singh Majithia also shared their heartfelt condolences over this tragic incident.