Gandhinagar ; Eleven members of an extended family, including six women and a child, were killed and over a dozen others injured in a road accident in the early hours of Wednesday at Waghodia crossroads near Vadodara in Gujarat, police said.
The accident occurred when an Eicher truck carrying around 25 to 30 members of the family from Surat’s Varachha area was on way to Pavagadh for a pilgrimage when it rammed a tanker around 3 am.
Almost all of the truck passengers were injured and rushed to the SSG Hospital. Over a dozen of them were admitted in the Vadodara hospital, where two of them succumbed to injuries later on.
Confirming the deaths of two critically injured patients, Hospital Superintendent Dr Ranjan Iyer told IANS: “A total of 11 persons have died in the Waghodia road accident. Of the 15-16 persons brought to the hospital, five have since been shifted elsewhere on their kin’s request.”
“At least two of the admitted injured are children. One girl Devanshi has been operated upon in the orthopaedic section. Of the admitted patients, one with an abdominal injuries is somewhat critical and is under 24-hour observation while the rest are doing good,” said Dr Iyer.
Dr Karanrajsinh Vaghela, DCP Zone 3, Vadodara, said earlier: “Nine members of an Ahir family were killed — five women, three men and a child. Around 24 to 25 injured persons were rushed to the SSG Hospital after the accident, where nine were declared brought dead. All are from a single family and most of them were sleeping when the accident occurred. With the help of medical and fire brigade personnel, we evacuated them. A FSL team will visit the accident spot.”
Vadodara Collector Shalini Agrawal, SSG Hospital Superintendent Dr Ranjan Iyer, and former Vadodara Mayor Bharat Dangar also visited the spot.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani conveyed their condolences to the bereaved family on their Twitter handles.
“Saddened by the accident in Vadodara. My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones. Praying that the injured recover soon. The administration is providing all possible assistance at the sight of the accident,” Modi said.
“Saddened by the loss of lives due to a road accident near Vadodara. Instructed officials to do the needful. May those who have been injured recover at the earliest. I pray for the departed souls. Om Shanti…,” the Chief Minister tweeted.
