Anand: Five people were killed and several others seriously injured when a luxury bus travelling from Surat to Rajasthan collided with a truck on the Vadodara-Ahmedabad Expressway in Anand district early Wednesday.
The crash took place around 4 am, seven hours after the private bus had left Surat. Police said most passengers were asleep at the time. The impact crushed those on seats and sleeper berths on one side of the bus.
“The bus had tried to overtake the truck on the expressway when the accident occurred. Five persons have been killed and the injured have been taken to hospitals. The investigation is underway,” G G Jasani, Superintendent of Police, Anand, said.
Police and local residents reached the spot after being alerted and rescued some of the passengers.
Among the seriously injured are Surat residents Ganesh Jadav, 39; Vidhjeet Bhatchadla, 22; Ramesh Sharma, 60; and Nadiad’s Vishal Trivedi, 20, and Rajni Kant, 60, from Rajasthan. They were moved to a nearby hospital in Nadiad. The bodies of those killed on the spot were sent for post-mortem after police procedure.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences over the deaths. “Deeply saddened by the loss of lives in a mishap in Anand, Gujarat. Condolences to the bereaved families. I pray for the speedy recovery of all those injured: PM @narendramodi,” Modi said in a post on X.
A loud bang and screams
Dhanesh Jadhav, a Surat resident who was among the injured, told police he was asleep when a loud bang woke him. He said passengers began screaming as they realised the bus had crashed.
Outside the Nadiad hospital, a relative of one of the dead told reporters the family had seen him off when he boarded the bus at Surat and later got a call about the accident.
“My brother-in-law has died. We immediately travelled from Surat to the spot. My sister has two young sons. The government should compensate the families who have been killed,” the relative said.
Jitendrsinh Zala, 32, from Sabarkantha, who was returning home after visiting his in-laws, was also among those killed. “I got a phone call and rushed from Sabarkanta. We still do not know what happened,” Jitendrsinh’s brother Vipul said.
“We are farmers. He left behind a wife and two children aged 10 and 8. Since my father has already passed away, now I am the only male member in our family. I have not even begun thinking about how I will manage both our families,” Vipul added. Anand district police have registered a case and begun investigating the circumstances of the collision.
The damaged bus and truck were removed from the expressway after the accident. Traffic, which was affected soon after the collision, has been restored.