9 dead in accident in Barnala

At least nine persons,including two children,died in a road accident on the Barnala-Kotakpura road in Punjab late last night.

Six persons were injured,of whom two were critical and four were out of danger.

Police said the incident took place around 10.40 pm near Pakho Khenchin village in Barnala district. Members of two families were travelling in a Tata Venture from Kotakpura to a temple in Patiala.

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The vehicle collided head-on with a truck on the highway. The impact killed nine persons on the spot,while the injured were rushed to hospital by villagers and police personnel. The police had to use mechanised equipment to take out the bodies from the badly damaged vehicle.

The driver of the truck managed to escape. He was identified as Gora Singh,a resident of Bathinda,and booked on charges of rash and negligent driving causing death.

Among those who died were Gurpreet Kaur (24),Harpreet Kaur (16),Paramjit Kaur (38),Sarabjeet Kaur (42),Jaswinder Kaur (55),Aman (five months),Riya (5),Gurmel Singh (42) and Avtar Singh (18).

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal expressed deep shock at the accident. The CM announced an -gratia grant of Rs 1 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased and ordered free treatment for all the injured.

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