Gujarat: truck runs over, kills 18 sleeping pilgrims
Emergency Medical Response Service ambulance personel carry an injured pilgrim into the VS Hospital in Ahmedabad on June 9, 2011. Eighteen pilgrims lost their lives when a truck ran over the pilgrims, who were on their way to a fair at a religious shrine, as they slept on the side of the road.
A truck driving in the Indian state of Gujarat reportedly ran over and killed 18 pilgrims sleeping on the road early Thursday.
Police told the BBC the pilgrims had stopped at an eatery on a highway to rest for the night, when the truck driver seemed to have lost control of his vehicle.
The Hindu reports that 16 people including nine women died on the spot and another two died after being admitted to the VS Hospital in Ahmedabad.
The Times of India, citing TV sources, is reporting that at least 20 people died.
They were near the capital of Gujarat, Ahmedabad, on the highway between Dolka with Bagodra. The pilgrims were headed to a village outside Dolka to attend a fair.
The police told the Hindu they are investigating the incident but the driver and his cleaner have fled.
India has the highest road accident death toll in the world, with at least 100,000 killed every year, the BBC states. Most accidents are from reckless driving, inexperienced drivers, bad roads and old vehicles.
Earlier this month, a bus carrying a wedding party plunged into a large pond in the northeastern state of Assam and killed at least 25 people.
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