6 killed, 7 injured in truck crash in Chhattisgarh
Six people were killed, and seven others sustained injuries after a truck transporting wheat rammed into a stationary mini goods vehicle on a highway in Chhattisgarh’s Balod district on Friday, police said.
The accident occurred around 11:30 am at Markatola Ghat, under Purur police station limits, on National Highway-30, when the victims, members of a ‘dhumal’ music band, were traveling towards Jagdalpur from Kabirdham district, an official said. He said that the goods vehicle, carrying 15 people and their musical instruments, broke down at Markatola Ghat, and two of the occupants had gone to Dhamtari in search of a mechanic.
A 16-wheeler truck loaded with wheat, heading towards Jagdalpur from Raipur, crashed into the stationary goods vehicle from behind. The truck dragged the vehicle about 30 metres before it overturned, the official said.
Some of the victims were trapped under heavy sacks of wheat, and two of them died on the spot, while four succumbed to injuries during treatment at the Dhamtari district hospital, he said.
The seven injured persons have been referred to Raipur for further treatment, the official said, adding that the truck driver fled the scene after the crash and efforts were underway to trace him.
