At least five people, including three children, were killed and several others injured after a vehicle carrying a group of pilgrims met with an accident in Punjab’s Ludhiana district on Friday morning. Khanna Police said the accident took place near the Sirhind Canal in Behlolpur village after the driver lost control of the Mahindra pick-up van.
“The vehicle did not fall into the canal but rolled over and got stuck in the trees. However, three children slipped into the canal and died due to drowning. Two other women were declared dead on arrival at the hospital,” said Tarlochan Singh, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Samrala.
The victims have been identified as Karamjit Kaur, 55, and Mahinder Kaur, 65. DSP Singh said divers have recovered the bodies of two children who drowned in the canal — Gaganjeet Kaur, 12, and another girl who is yet to be identified. The body of the third child, Sukhpreet Singh, 7, is yet to be recovered and divers were on the job, he said.
The injured were rushed to Chamkaur Sahib Civil Hospital in the nearby Ropar district.
As many as 18 people, including the driver, were travelling in the vehicle, said the police. The police said the pilgrims, who hailed from Nizampur and Danogwal villages of the Payal segment in Ludhiana, were returning after paying obeisance at Dera Vadbhag Singh in Una of Himachal Pradesh.
DSP Singh said it was suspected the driver probably nodded off for a few seconds due to which he lost control of the vehicle. “But it will be clear only after his statement was recorded. He is also undergoing treatment,” said the officer, adding that an FIR was being registered at Machhiwara police station of Khanna police district.
