Young couple among four killed in truck-pickup collision in Sinnar

Nashik: A 21-year-old man and his 19-year-old wife were among four people killed after a truck collided with a pickup in Sinnar early on Saturday morning.The young couple and the pickup driver died of severe burns after the vehicle caught fire immediately after the collision, while a 64-year-old woman seated in the rear died from injuries sustained in the impact.The deceased have been identified as Kiran More (23), the pickup driver, Shubham Navle (21), Rinku Navle (19) and Mirabai Gangurde (64).The accident occurred on the Panchale-Shaha road in Sinnar when the victims, all farm workers, were returning to their homes in Panchale village after attending a religious programme at a relative's house in Pathre village.The crash took place when the group was about 2km from their village, after their pickup was hit by an oncoming truck loaded with chicken feed.Inspector Bharat Jadhav, of the MIDC police station, said, "The truck was moving toward Shaha village from the Panchale side. The driver reportedly dozed off and rammed the oncoming pickup. Due to the force of the collision, the truck toppled onto the road, while the pickup vehicle was knocked into a roadside ditch, where its cabin instantly caught fire."Kiran More and the young couple were trapped inside the burning cabin and died in the flames. The elderly woman also died due to the severe impact of the crash.Local residents rushed to the spot after hearing the collision and alerted the police. The police and the fire brigade personnel arrived promptly to douse the flames, but all four victims had already died. Six other passengers, mostly young children seated in the rear of the pickup, survived.