At least 12 people, including women and children, were killed and several others injured when a speeding truck ploughed into a religious procession in Bihar's Vaishali district on Sunday evening.
The accident took place in the Desri Police Station area of the north Bihar district, about 30 km from the state capital, when the procession had gathered in front of a ‘peepal’ tree on the roadside to offer prayers to a local deity ‘Bhumiya baba., bdnews24.com reported citing NDTV.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the accident and announced a compensation of Rs 200,000 to the families of each victim and Rs 50,000 to each of the injured.
"The accident in Vaishali, Bihar is saddening. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon,” Modi said on Twitter.
President Droupadi Murmu also expressed her condolences and said that the reports of the accident are "extremely painful."
RJD MLA Mukesh Roushan, under whose Mahua assembly constituency the site of the incident falls, rushed to the area and said, "At least nine people have died on the spot. Many others have been taken to the Sadar hospital at Hajipur (the district headquarters), and three succumbed to injuries on the way. Those whose conditions are critical are being referred to hospitals in Patna."
Vaishali Superintendent of Police Manish Kumar said, "The procession was taken out as part of a custom associated with marriages. A wedding was scheduled in a few days at the house of a resident of Sultanpur village nearby. The driver of the truck speeding through the adjacent Mahnar-Hajipur highway lost control. He is stuck inside the mangled vehicle and we fear that he might have died.
Locals claimed that the victims included at least four children.
Chaos prevailed in the area as those who lost their near and dear ones stood wailing beside the road while many others chanted angry slogans alleging that the police were late in reaching the spot.
Kumar said, "We have summoned personnel from a number of adjoining police stations to speed up the rescue work and keep the law and order situation under control."
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed grief over the accident and directed the district administration to ensure proper treatment of those who have been injured and speedy disbursement of compensation, as per norms, among the family of each victim.
Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav also offered his condolences to the families of those who died in the accident.