Four people, including two women, from Rajasthan’s Balotra were killed and seven others injured after the Tempo Traveller they were travelling in during a pilgrimage to the Golden Temple and the Amarnath shrine collided with a stationary truck near Gurusar Sainewala and Jodhpur Romana villages on the Bathinda-Dabwali National Highway (also known as the Amritsar-Jamnagar Highway) early on Wednesday.
The injured were rushed to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bathinda, for treatment. The deceased included two couples.
The impact of the collision was so severe that the Tempo Traveller was completely mangled. The truck was reportedly parked on the roadside.
A survivor, in an inconsolable state, repeatedly urged police personnel to take him to the hospital.
Meanwhile, Sandeep Singh, a volunteer of the Sahara Jan Seva Welfare Society, said he received a phone call about the accident and immediately rushed to the spot. He said the NGO shifted the victims and transported the bodies to hospitals in three ambulances.
According to him, three bodies were taken to the Civil Hospital, Bathinda, while one body was kept at the AIIMS Bathinda.
The police have initiated an investigation to ascertain the exact cause of the accident.
A doctor at the Civil Hospital said the identities of the deceased were established after their Aadhaar cards were checked, and they belonged to Balotra in Rajasthan. The deceased were identified as Mahinder Kumar, his wife Manisha, and Pankaj, his wife Dimple.
