MOGA – At least 18 Sikh devotees including six women and five children were killed on Monday in a road collision in India’s northern state of Punjab, police said.
The accident occurred in Moga district, 170 kilometres west of state capital Chandigarh, in the early hours of Monday.
“Fourteen people were killed at the scene while four more succumbed to their injuries in hospital,” policeman Gurbinder Singh said by telephone.
“All those killed in the accident were travelling in the pick-up and were returning from the Nanaksar temple,” he said.
Police said a speeding lorry overtaking another vehicle collided head-on with the pick-up. The truck driver reportedly fled after the accident.
India has one of the highest rates of transport-related fatalities in the world. Government data shows approximately 120 000 people are killed in road accidents each year. – Sapa-dpa
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