Twenty-five people, including 11 children, were killed and 10 others injured when a speeding truck overturned and fell into a roadside ditch near Titai Bigha in Aurangabad district in the wee hours today.
Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Praveen Kumar Parai told PTI from the accident spot that the injured had told him the truck driver was drunk and that he along with his assistant fled from the spot.
About 35 people were on board and 25 of them were killed when the truck turned turtle. Ten others were injured and have been admitted to Sadar hospital.
The truck, carrying 35 labourers, overturned on NH 139 before rolling into a roadside ditch, Superintendent of Police Daljeet Singh said.
The labourers, who had come to Aurangabad for harvesting crops, were returning to their native Lesiganj village in Daltonganj district bordering Jharkhand, Singh said.
State Cooperative Minister Ramadhar Singh, who is a BJP MLA from Aurangabad, condoled the death and said the state government would provide Rs 50,000 each as compensation to the families of the deceased.
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