Six die in Khagaria accident as speeding truck rams into auto

Patna: Six people, including a two-month-old infant, died and six others were seriously injured when a speeding truck rammed into a shared autorickshaw on NH-31 in Khagaria district on Monday afternoon. The injured were admitted to Khagaria Sadar Hospital.The driver of the truck escaped after the accident.The accident occurred around 2pm near Thatha village under Mansi police station limits.According to eyewitnesses, the truck was moving at a very high speed when it hit the autorickshaw head-on. It then collided with a parked SUV and finally crashed into a van while the driver was allegedly trying to flee.The impact completely mangled the autorickshaw, throwing passengers onto the road and into nearby bushes. Locals rushed to rescue the victims before police arrived.The deceased included Swati Kumari (14), two women, a two-month-old infant, a 25-year-old man and a middle-aged man identified as Sanjay Paswan. Police said efforts were underway to identify all the victims.Two bodies remained trapped inside the mangled autorickshaw, while others were found scattered on the road and in roadside bushes.One of the injured survivors, Rahmatun Khatun, told police that around 11 people were travelling in the shared autorickshaw when the accident took place. She said the front portion of the vehicle was completely destroyed and several passengers suffered severe injuries, including head and leg wounds.Mansi SHO Deepak Kumar said the autorickshaw was travelling from Khagaria towards Maheshkhunt when the accident occurred. He added that while the pickup vehicle suffered major damage, no one travelling in it was injured. The SUV driver sustained minor injuries.Police seized the truck involved in the accident and started a search operation to arrest the driver of the truck, he added.Chief minister Samrat Choudhary expressed grief over the deaths and described the incident as “very tragic”. He directed the disaster management department to provide an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the deceased and instructed officials to ensure proper treatment for the injured.