At least 8 people were killed in a freak road accident on early Monday morning as dozens of vehicles piled up due to poor visibility owing to dense fog on the highway in Haryana’s Jhajjar.
Seven of the deceased were women. Over 10 people were injured in the accident. Parts of Haryana and Punjab have been engulfed in a veil of dense fog since the last few days leading to poor visibility. Several cars and trucks, including a school bus, collided with each other at high speed with drivers failing to spot the vehicle in front on the highway.
Two vehicles initially collided on Badli flyover on the national highway. This was followed by several vehicles crashing into each other from behind due to poor visibility. The deceased have been identified as natives of Jhajjar’s Kidrot village and were reportedly travelling in a jeep to Najafgarh in Delhi to condole the death of a relative.
The pileup of crashed vehicles led to long traffic snarls and diversions on the route as the authorities concerned remained busy in rescue and relief operation. It took long to clear the accident site as many vehicles turned turtle. Emergency rescue personnel managed to extricate dead bodies and the injured with difficulty.
Haryana minister O P Dhankar later reached the spot. The government has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to be given to the next of kin, Rs 1 lakh to those severely injured and Rs 50,000 to those who received minor injuries.