Jaipur: Eleven people, including seven children, were killed and 14 others injured early Wednesday when a pickup truck rammed into a parked container on the Manoharpur–Dausa highway in Dausa district. The victims included seven children aged between one and nine years. The other four victims were women. The victims, residents of Asroli village in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah and Firozabad town, were returning home after a pilgrimage to the Khatushyam and Salasar temples in Sikar district.The crash occurred around 3.30am near Bapi village, under the jurisdiction of the Santhal police station. According to SP Dausa Sagar Rana, the vehicle, a goods carrier not meant for passengers, was overcrowded with 25 people, mostly women and children. Police officials said the driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel. In a desperate attempt to swerve away from a container parked along the roadside, the vehicle collided directly with it, leading to a devastating impact. The driver, identified as Nitin, survived with a fractured hand. An FIR has been registered against him.Villagers nearby woke up jolted by the sound of the loud crash and rushed to the scene. What they saw was harrowing — bodies flung across the road, injured passengers entangled in the wreckage, and blood smeared across the highway.Most of the deceased were children and women sitting on makeshift wooden planks placed above the standard seating in the back of the pickup to accommodate more passengers.The group left Etah on Aug 10 in two pickups for the religious trip. After attending prayers and a community meal at the Khatushyam temple on Aug 12, they began their journey back home late that night. Just hours later, tragedy struck. The second vehicle, carrying the male members of the families, arrived at the accident site minutes later. Many broke down in shock seeing their loved ones dead or gravely injured.Ten people died at the scene, while one woman died after being referred to Jaipur. The injured were rushed to hospitals in Dausa and Jaipur, with four, including two women, still undergoing treatment at the Dausa district hospital.District and police officials reached the crash site shortly after the incident. Police said early findings point to overloading and driver fatigue as the primary causes. The spot where the accident occurred has already been marked as an accident-prone zone. Rajasthan’s agriculture minister Kirori Lal Meena, who visited the injured in Dausa, said several such black spots have been identified across the state.Among those who died were Priyanka (25) and her daughter Poorvi (3); Sonam (27) with daughters Saloni (9) and Mishti (1); Sheila (28) and her son Nirmal (11); Seema (29) and her son Babu (3); along with Vaishnavi (7) and Mehak (7).President Droupadi Murmu, Rajasthan governor Hari Bhau Bagde and Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma offered condolences and the police launched an inquiry into the accident.“The news of the death of many people, including women and children, in a road accident in Dausa, Rajasthan, is very tragic. I express my deep condolences to the bereaved families. I pray for the speedy recovery of those injured in this accident,” President Murmu said in a post on X in Hindi.Chief Minister Sharma expressed grief over the loss of lives in the accident. “The news of loss of lives in a horrific road accident in Dausa is extremely tragic. The district administration has been directed to ensure prompt and proper treatment for the injured. May god grant a place at his divine feet to the departed souls and provide speedy recovery to the injured,” he said. Sharma also instructed officials concerned to ensure proper arrangements for the treatment of the injured.Rajasthan assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani also expressed deep sorrow over the tragic accident and prayed for peace of the departed souls and speedy recovery of the injured, an official statement said. Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and other leaders also expressed sorrow over the incident.
