At least eight people lost their lives after a tempo collided with a truck near a factory in the Shahjahanpur Police Station area in outskirts of Patna, said the Bihar Police on Saturday. The accident left four others seriously injured as well, and they have been admitted to a hospital.
The victims, the Bihar Police said, were residents of the Nalanda district and were returning from Fatwah after taking a dip in the Ganga River. Seven of the eight deceased were women.
According to the police, the truck was overspeeding and collided with the tempo after the driver lost control. The head-on collision was so severe that the tempo was shattered into pieces.
Following the accident, the driver fled from the spot, said the police, adding that it has registered a case.
A similar incident was reported earlier this month after a bus rammed into a truck parked on the roadside in West Bengal's Burdwan town on August 15, leaving ten pilgrims from Bihar dead. The accident also left 35 others injured.
The pilgrims, hailing from Motihari in East Champaran district, were returning home after visiting Gangasagar in South 24 Parganas district when the bus in which they were travelling met with an accident on National Highway 19 near Phaguipur in Purba Bardhaman district.
Following the accident, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased.
