Chandigarh, Jan 31 (IANS) At least nine people were killed and 11 injured in a collision between a pick-up van and canter truck while transporting workers of a catering service provider in Punjab's Ferozepur district on Friday, police said.
The police said the pickup van was ferrying workers from Guru Har Sahai, a subdivision in Ferozepur district, to Jalalabad in neighbouring Fazilka district when the accident occurred.
Prima facie the cause of the accident was a tyre burst of the canter.
According to the police, about 25 to 30 people, mainly waiters, were in the pickup truck. They were travelling from Guru Har Sahai to Jalalabad to attend a programme when the accident occurred near Golu Ka Mod within the Guru Har Sahai Assembly constituency area.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Satnam Singh said as the accident was reported, teams from the Sadak Suraksha Force (SSF) reached the spot and started the rescue operation.
The injured were sent to the nearest hospitals in Guruharsahai, Jalalabad and a few of the critically injured were referred to the Guru Gobind Singh Medical College in Faridkot.
"Nine people have died. The Canter driver is among the injured, " said Senior Superintendent of Police Saumya Mishra, who rushed to the accident spot.
"Ten of the injured were referred to the Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot, and one was admitted at Jalalabad Civil Hospital, " said Deputy Commissioner Deepshikha Sharma.
She said that the district administration would bear the cost of treatment of all injured. Six of the seriously injured were taken to Faridkot hospital while others were rushed to Jalalabad Hospital.
The bodies have been kept in a mortuary at the Civil Hospital of Jalalabad.
Locals reached the accident spot and started the rescue operation ahead of the local administration reached there.
"I pray to God for the eternal peace of the departed souls and the speedy recovery of the injured. The Punjab government stands with the families of the victims in this difficult time, " Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann wrote on X.