Van falls into Punjab canal, women & kids among 8 dead

JAGERA (LUDHIANA): Eight people - including four women and three children - died and two went missing after an overloaded pick-up van, carrying 25 pilgrims, plunged into Sirhind canal in Ludhiana late Sunday. The pilgrims were heading back after offering puja at Naina Devi temple in Himachal Pradesh.According to the sarpanch, 26 people from Manakwal village, on the outskirts of Ludhiana, had set out on the 140km journey to the temple Saturday. Three hitchhikers had joined them on the way back. They were around 20km short of Manakwal when the vehicle swerved off Jagera bridge and fell into the canal.Some of the occupants managed to swim to safety. Some were incredibly lucky. One of the survivors, Kaka Singh, who had taken a lift from near Rara Sahib, said he grabbed a tree branch and clung to it as the pickup fell into the canal.