Seven Killed as Truck Ploughs Into Crowd in Jharkhand’s Khunti; PM Mourns

Seven people, including three children, were killed and another was injured when a speeding truck ran over a crowd on a road in Jharkhand’s Khunti district on Thursday night. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that he was “deeply pained” by the loss of lives.

The accident took place near the Jone-Ludru turn on the Karra-Torpa road, in the Karra police station area. A scooter rider had lost control and fallen into bushes near a culvert, and residents of a nearby colony, among them women and children, had gathered to check on him.

An 18-wheel truck coming from the direction of Torpa then ran over the crowd. Khunti Superintendent of Police Rishabh Garg said the truck was overspeeding and that the driver “might not have seen the crowd due to darkness” while negotiating a sharp turn.

The driver and his helper fled the spot, police said. Six people died at the scene and one in hospital. The injured person, a girl, is being treated at Khunti Sadar Hospital.

PM EXPRESSES CONDOLENCES

“Deeply pained by the loss of lives in a mishap in Khunti, Jharkhand. I extend my condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a post on X.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren wrote on X that he was deeply saddened by the news and offered condolences to the bereaved families.

With inputs from ANI