Gujarat: 19 Killed, 7 Injured After Cement Laden Truck Turns Turtle on Bhavnagar-Ahmedabad Highway
As per initial details available, the incident took place near Bavalyali village in Bhavnagar. The injured ones have been rushed to the nearby hospital.
Ahmedabad, May 19: At least 19 people were killed while seven others were severely injured in a deadly accident on Saturday morning in Gujarat. Out of the 19 killed, sixteen were labourers while three others were children. As per reports, the horrific accident took place after a cement-laden truck turned turtle on Bhavnagar-Ahmedabad highway.
As per initial details available, the incident took place near Bavalyali village in Bhavnagar. The injured ones have been rushed to the nearby hospital. As per details by the Police, the accident seems to have taken place as the driver of the truck lost control of the vehicle.
After the mishap, the driver escaped from the spot and a search has been launched to trace him. “There were 25 labourers travelling in the truck. The vehicle turned turtle early morning and 19 labourers were crushed to death,” Ahmedabad Superintendent of Police R V Asari was quoted by PTI.
In another similar incident, at least 20 tourists from Gujarat were injured when a bus turned turtle at Mangrot on Bilaspur-Shimla Highway, about 80 km from here, police said. The ill-fated bus carrying 41 persons was on its way from Shimla to Manali. As per details by Police, the accident reportedly took place due to over speeding and two cars parked on the roadside were also damaged.
On an average, about 29,300 accidents take place in Gujarat each year, while over 6,400 die in such accidents. In a bid to provide timely and better treatment, the state government of Gujarat earlier this month had announced that it will provide free treatment for the first 48 hours to all the victims of road accidents admitted to any government or private hospital in the state.
Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, who also handles the Health portfolio, made the announcement. "If we provide timely treatment, we can save many lives. We will instruct private hospitals to start giving free treatment and submit their bills to our officials for reimbursement", Patel was quoted by PTI.
Under the scheme, all state government will bear medical expenses of up to 50,000 rupees for each victim of a road accident in the state for the first 48 hours. It must be noted that the government would reimburse the amount to the hospital concerned upon submission of bills. In an instance where a hospital refers the patient to another hospital within 48 hours, both the hospitals will be eligible for the reimbursement of their combined bill of Rs 50,000.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 19, 2018 08:34 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).